Terence

Ter·ence

T0114500 (tĕr′əns) Originally Publius Terentius Afer. 185?-159? bc. Carthaginian-born Roman playwright. His plays, including Phormio and Adelphi, are largely based on Greek comedies and feature fine dialogue and subtle humor.

Terence

(ˈtɛrəns) n (Biography) Latin name Publius Terentius Afer. ?190–159 bc, Roman comic dramatist. His six comedies, Andria, Hecyra, Heauton Timoroumenos, Eunuchus, Phormio, and Adelphoe, are based on Greek originals by Menander

Ter•ence

(ˈtɛr əns)

n. (Publius Terentius Afer) c190–159? B.C., Roman playwright.

Thesaurus

Noun

Terence - dramatist of ancient Rome (born in Greece) whose comedies were based on works by Menander (190?-159 BC)Publius Terentius Afer

Translations

Терентий

Terence

(Publius Terentius Afer) (tĕr`əns), b. c.185 or c.195 B.C., d. c.159 B.C., Roman writer of comedies, b. Carthage. As a boy he was a slave of Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, who brought him to Rome, educated him, and gave him his freedom. Six comedies by him survive—Andria, Heautontimorumenos, Eunuchus, Phormio, Adelphi, and Hecyra. All are adapted (with considerable liberty) from Greek plays by Menander and others. The writing is polished and urbane, the humor broad, and the characters realistic.

Bibliography

See G. E. Duckworth, The Complete Roman Drama (1942); W. G. Arnott, Menander, Plautus, and Terence (1965).

Terence

(Publius Terentius Afer). Born circa 195 B.C.; died 159 B.C. Roman dramatist.

Terence was born in Carthage. Between 166 and 160 B.C., he wrote six plays, using the plots and masks of the Greek New Comedy: The Lady of Andros, The Self-tormentor, The Eunuch, and The Brothers were adaptations of plays by Menander, and Phormio and The Mother-in-law were adaptations of plays by Apollodorus of Carystus. In these plays Terence departed from the convention of mixing Greek and Roman elements and from the crude comedy and buffoonery typified by Plautus. Despite the use of the device of contaminatio (adding a character from a second Greek original), the plots in Terence’s comedies develop consistently; his characters, depicted with psychological subtlety, contrast with the accepted pattern. Terence separated the prologue from the plot and used it to make sharp comments on current events and to engage in polemics with literary opponents. Terence had an enormous influence on the togata, the Roman comedy of the mid-second century B.C. His influence can be seen in Moliere’s plays. A. N. Ostrovskii translated the Mother-in-law.

WORKS

Comédies: Texte établi par J. Marouzeau, vols. 1–3. Paris, 1942–49.
In Russian translation:
Komedii. Moscow, 1934.
Adel’fi. Moscow, 1954.

REFERENCES

Tronskii, I. M. Istoriia antichnoi literatury, 3rd ed. Leningrad, 1957. Pages 305–14.
Savel’eva, L. I. Khudozhestvennyi metod Publiia Terentsiia Afra. Kazan, 1960.
Haffter, H. “Terenz und seine künstlerische Eigenart.” Museum Helveticum, 1953, vol. 10, pp. 1–20,73–102.

K. P. POLONSKAIA

Terence

Latin name Publius Terentius Afer. ?190--159 bc, Roman comic dramatist. His six comedies, Andria, Hecyra, Heauton Timoroumenos, Eunuchus, Phormio, and Adelphoe, are based on Greek originals by Menander

Terence

Ter·ence

Terence

Ter•ence

Terence

Terence

Bibliography

Terence

WORKS

REFERENCES

Terence

Terence

Synonyms for Terence

noun dramatist of ancient Rome (born in Greece) whose comedies were based on works by Menander (190?-159 BC)

Synonyms