Similarities Between Roman And Roman Cinema - 1506 Words

Numerous influences established Roman theatrical entertainment. Etruscan and Greek antecedent are what predominantly shaped ancient Roman entertainment. Etruscans were people who lived in modern day Tuscany and parts of Umbria (Beacham, 1991). Rome inherited all attributes of the Etruscan religious festivals, where various theatrical performances were given, ranging from acting to chariot racing. For instance these carnival-like festivals occurred to please the gods though theatrical offerings. Another element that the Etruscans contributed was the importance of music and usages of masks and dance. In Etruria, music was accompanied in most activities varying from sacrifices to daily work (Brocket, 1995). Additionally roman theatrical†¦show more content†¦The contrasting from, Fabula Togata were comedies based on Roman material and subjects that provided the audience with situation of domestic and day-to-day life. Plautus and Terrance were the only two authors who had survivi ng roman comedies. Titus Plautus (251-184 BC) wrote around 205 works, but only 21 comedies survived (Wickham, 1992). All his plays are based on Greek new comedy by would add many Roman allusions. He was admired for his Latin dialogue, poetic manner, and witty jokes in his comedies. These characteristics were what described him of having â€Å"comical powers†. Publius Terentius Affer, best known as Terrance (195 – 159 BC) was also a very famous comic with six surviving plays. He would have complex plots, as he would combine more than one Greek original. Identifiable characteristics in his work would be the use of everyday language and the use of double plots (Brocket, 1995). (ENDING) Roman tragedy was not a prominent theatrical form during the rise of the Roman Empire, however it was highly regarded by the audience during the republic (Brocket, 1995). Although no actual plays survived, it is through fragments, titles and notes that indicate how most of them were adapted from Greek originals. In fact these tragedies were barely based on Roman subjects themselves. The main differences in these plays from the