The Meters of Roman Comedy

Timothy J. Moore, The Meters of Roman Comedy

This database is dedicated to the memory of Cesare Questa (1934-2016), the incomparable master of Roman Comedy’s numeri innumeri, without whom it would not have been possible.

Introduction

This is a database of all metrical units (passages in an individual meter) in the extant plays of Plautus and Terence except for the fragmentary Vidularia.

Each record represents a metrical unit, or a passage in a single meter (these range from one verse to over 200 verses), and includes the following fields:

Fields immediately visible in each record:

• Playwright
• Play
• Starting Line: the number of the first verse of this metrical unit
• Ending Line: number of the last verse of this metrical unit
• Line Count: total number of verses in this metrical unit
• Starting Text: a quotation of the first verse in the passage
• Ending Text: a quotation of the last verse in the passage
• Meter: the meter of the passage (in the case of verses that include more than one meter, all are recorded as one: e.g.: ba2bacol counts as one meter, as does a versus reizianus and cr2tr4cat)
• Meter Before: the meter of the passage immediately preceding this one
• Meter After: the meter of the passage immediately following this one
• Character, Character Verses, Character Type: The name of each character who speaks or sings in the passage, the number of verses in which that character speaks or sings in the passage (in verses where one or more characters speak, one verse is attributed to each character, regardless of how much or how little of the verse that character delivers); and the character's type.
• Meter Type: the type of meter to which the meter of the passage belongs (if two or more meter types occur in the same verse, both are counted: e.g.: cr2tr4cat counts as both cretic and trochaic)

Fields accessed by clicking “Notes” at the right of each record: (to hide the notes again, click on the box where they appear)

• Closure: notes on how the passage ends (e.g., whether the end of the metrical unit corresponds with the end of a sentence or a scene)
• Comments on Length: remarks on such matters as numbers of long and short syllables, resolutions, and variations on standard metrical forms
• Comments, Other: notes on textual questions, content, choice of meter, and other matters.

How to Use the Database

• Each of the following fields—“Playwright”, “Play”, “Character Type”, “Character”, “Meter”, “Meter Type”, “Meter Before”, and “Meter After”—comprises a dimension. Dimensions are listed on the left side of the database. Each dimension includes two or more facets (e.g., the dimension “Playwright” includes the facets “ Plautus” and “Terence”).
• All the facets within a dimension can be viewed by clicking on the box with the dimension name. To hide the facets, click on the box again.
• Using the upper row of the database, with its “select all” and “deselect all” options, in combination with the list of dimensions on the left column, one can view and calculate various aspects of Plautus and Terence’s metrical practice together or separately.
• The same identical fields appear in each of the three pages of the database—“By Line,” “By Character Verse,” and “By Unit”—but the three pages calculate different things.
  • The page “By Line” calculates the total number of verses for each playwright, play, meter type, and meter.
  • The page “By Character Verse” calculates the total number of character verses (parts or all of a verse delivered by any individual character) for each playwright, play, character type, character, meter type, and meter. Note that these numbers tend to be higher than the number of verses because characters often share verses. If two characters of the same type share a verse, two character verses are counted for the character type.
  • The page “By Unit” calculates the total number of metrical units for each playwright, play, meter type, and meter, as well as how many times individual meters occur before and after metrical units.

Always begin by clicking “Select All” under “Dimensions” in the upper left corner of the page. This will make facets in all dimensions visible.

Viewing and Calculating

You can view Plautus and Terence’s metrical practice in its entirety, or all the passages in either playwright or any play, or the playwrights’ use of any individual meter or meter type, in any of the three pages. In “By Character Verse,” you can also see the usage of meters by individual characters or character types, and in “By Unit,” you can also see what meters precede or follow other meters.

To view all the metrical changes in all of Plautus and Terence:

Begin by clicking “Select All” under “Dimensions” in the upper left corner of any of the three pages.

All the metrical units will appear, listed by Plautus’ plays in alphabetical order followed by Terence’s play’s in alphabetical order. Note the page-changing controls at the upper right of the page, and click “Notes” to learn more details about each passage (after it has appeared, click the “Notes” box again when you want to hide it).

If you are on the “By Line” page, you will be able to see how many total verses there are in each playwright, play, meter type, and meter by clicking on the appropriate box on the left of the page.

If you are on the “By Character Verse” page, you be able to see how many character verses (part or all of a verse delivered by an individual character) there are in each playwright, play, meter type, and meter, and how many character verses each character type and character delivers, by clicking on the appropriate boxes on the left side of the page.

If you are on the “By Unit” page, you will be able to see how many metrical units there are in each playwright, play, meter type, and meter, and how many times metrical units precede or follow each individual meter, by clicking on the appropriate boxes on the left side of the page.

To examine individual aspects of Plautus and Terence's metrical practice:

Begin by clicking “Select All” under “Dimensions” in the upper left corner of any of the three pages.

By clicking “Deselect All” under a given dimension at the top of the page, and then choosing a facet of that dimension on the left of the page, you can examine individual aspects of Plautus and Terence’s metrical practice.

Example:

To study just the meters of Terence’s Adelphoe:

Click “Select All” under “Dimensions” in the upper left corner of any of the three pages.

Click “Deselect All” under “Play” at the top of the page, then click on the box “Play” in the left column. A list of all Plautus and Terence’s plays will appear (plays are listed in alphabetical order). Click on Adelphoe. All the metrical units of Adelphoe will appear. If you are interested in a specific passage in Adelphoe, you can scroll down to find it. Note the page-changing controls at the upper right of the page. Click “Notes” to learn more details about individual passages.

If you are on the “By Line” page, you can see the total number of verses in Adelphoe and the total number of verses in the play of each meter and meter type. If you are on the “By Character Verse” page, you can see how many character verses there are in Adelphoe, how many character verses are delivered by each character type and character in the play, and how many character verses in the play are in each meter type and meter. If you are on the “By Unit” page, you can see how many metrical units are in Adelphoe, how many units in the play are in each meter and meter type, and how many units in the play are preceded and followed by each meter.

To study aspects of Plautus and Terence’s metrical use in combination.

Successive uses of the “Deselect All” option in the dimensions at the top of the screen together with the boxes on the left of the screen allow the user to see how different aspects of Plautus and Terence’s metrical practice work together.

Examples:

To study anapestic verses delivered by meretrices in Plautus’ Bacchides:

• Choose the page “By Character Verse.”
• Click “Select All” under “Dimensions” in the upper left corner of the page.
• Click “Deselect All” under “Character Type” at the top of the page.
• Click the “Character Type” box on the left of the page. An alphabetical list of character types will appear. Click “mer.” You will now see all the units in which meretrices deliver all or part of one or more verses.
• Click “Deselect All” under “Play” at the top of the page, then click on the box “Play” on the left of the page, and choose Bacchides from the alphabetical list. The page now shows you all the metrical units in Bacchides in which meretrices deliver all or part of one or more verses and calculates how many character verses they deliver.
• Click “Deselect All” under “Meter Type” on the top of the page, then click on the “Meter Type” box on the left of the page. Choose “an” from the alphabetical list of meter types. The page now shows you only the metrical units in Bacchides in which one or more meretrices deliver part or all of one or more anapestic verses, and it calculates the number of anapestic character verses delivered by meretrices in Bacchides.

To see how many times trochaic octonarii follow trochaic septenarii in Terence:

• Choose the page “By Unit.”
• Click “Select All” under “Dimensions” in the upper left corner of the page.
• Click “Deselect All” under “Playwright” at the top of the page.
• Click the “Playwright” box on the left of the page and choose “Terence” from the alphabetical list. You will now see all the metrical units in Terence.
• Click “Deselect All” under “Meter” at the top of the page.
• Click the “Meter” box on the left of the page, and choose “tr7” from the alphabetical list. The page now shows you all the units of trochaic septenarii in Terence.
• Click “Deselect All” under “Meter After” at the top of the page.
• Click the “Meter After” box on the left of the page and choose “tr8” from the alphabetical list. The page now shows you only the metrical units in Terence in which a unit of trochaic septenarii is followed by one or more trochaic octonarii, and it calculates the number of times in Terence in which this occurs.

For questions on the use of this database, contact tmoore26@wustl.edu.

Sources

Except where otherwise noted, the text and scansion of the verses described in this database derive from the following sources:

Plautus:

Text and scansion of all verses included in Caesar Questa (ed.), T. Macci Plauti Cantica (Urbino: QuattroVenti, 1995) derive from that work.

For passages of Plautus not included in Questa’s text:

Text: Friedrich Leo (ed.), Plauti Comoediae (Berlin: Weidmann, 1895-1896). Metrical identification: Wallace M. Lindsay (ed.), T. Macci Plauti Comoediae (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1904-1905)

Terence:

Text and metrical identification: Robert Kauer and Wallace M. Lindsay (eds.), P. Terenti Afri Comoediae (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1926, reprinted with additions by Otto Skutsch, 1958).

Decisions I made regarding the authenticity of questioned verses are noted throughout the database in the “comments, other” field, accessed by clicking “Notes” in each record. Note in particular that I did not include Stichus 48-57 or anything after verse 1331 of Poenulus (I believe both alternate endings are interpolations). I did not include the Vidularia or the fragments not attributed to extant plays, but I did include the fragments of Amphitruo, Aulularia, Bacchides, and Cistellaria.

This Database was created by Timothy J. Moore with technical assistance from William Porter of Polytrope LLC. Porter’s work was supported with funding from the Department of Classics and the College of Liberal Arts of the University of Texas at Austin. The database has been modified for web publication by the Humanities Digital Workshop and Olin Library of Washington University in St. Louis (my deepest gratitude to Kieran Etienne of Olin Library and Douglas W. Knox of the Humanities Digital Workshop). All material in this database is copyright Timothy J. Moore. It can be used for non-commercial purposes provided appropriate acknowledgment is included.

Abbreviations

Character Types

adul

adulescens (i.e., an adulescens who is not a lover: for total numbers of verses delivered by adulescentes, add “adul” and “adulama”).

adulama

adulescens amans

anc

ancilla

arg

argentarius

mat

matrona

mer

mercator

mulier

a woman who does not belong to a more specific character type such as matrona or meretrix; for total numbers of verses delivered by mortal women, add ancilla, anus, fidicina, lena, matrona, meretrix, mulier, nutrix, obstetrix, priestess, pseudo-meretrix, and virgo.

paed

paedagogus

par

parasite

pseudomer

pseudo-meretrix

sen

senes

serv

servus (i.e., a male slave who does not belong to a more specific character type such as servus callidus, servus bonus, paedagogus, coquus, or eunuchus)

servbon

servus bonus

servcal

servus callidus

Meter Types

adon

adonic

an

anapestic, anapest

as h

hemiasclepiad

ba

bacchiac

cat

catalectic

cho or chor

choriambic, choriamb

col

colon

colreiz

colon reizianum

cont

continuati

cr

cretic

da or dac

dactylic, dactyl

diph

diphilean

gl

glyconic

ia

iambic, iamb

ion

ionic

ith

ithyphallic

mol

molossus

proc

proceleusmatic

pros

prosodiac

reiz

reizianum or reizianus

sp

spondaic, spondee

sys

system

thy

thymelicus

tr

trochaic, trochee

tri

tribrach

versreiz

versus reizianus

wil

wilamowitzianus

Scholarly Works

Barsby

Barsby, J. (ed.) (1999) Terence: Eunuchus. Cambridge.

Beare

Beare, W. (1964) The Roman Stage. 3rd edn. London.

Boldrini

Boldrini, S. (1984) Gli anapesti di Plauto: metro e ritmo. Urbino.

Bruder

Bruder, H. W. (1970) Bedeutung und Funktion des Verswechsels bei Terenz. Zurich.

Dupont

Dupont, F. (1987) “Cantica et diverbia dans l’Amphitryon de Plaute,” in Filologia e forme letterarie: Studi offerti a Francesco Della Corte, vol. II. Urbino: 45-56.

Enk M

Enk, P. J. (ed.) (1932) Plauti Mercator. Leiden.

Enk T

Enk, P. J. (ed.) (1953) Plauti Truculentus. Leiden.

Gratwick CHLL

Gratwick, A. S. (1982) “Drama,” in The Cambridge History of Classical Literature, vol. II: Latin Literature, eds. E. J. Kenney and W. V. Clausen. Cambridge: 77-137.

Gratwick M

Gratwick, A. S. (ed.) (1993) Plautus: Menaechmi. Cambridge.

Law

Law, H. H. (1922) Studies in the Songs of Plautine Comedy. Menasha, Wis.

Leo

Leo F. (ed.). (1895-6) Plauti Comoediae. Berlin.

Leo Cant.

Leo, F. (1897) Die plautinischen Cantica und die hellenistische Lyrik. Abh. der könig. Ges. Göttingen, Phil.-Hist. Klasse 1.7. Berlin.

Lindsay

Lindsay, W. M. (ed.) (1904-1905) T. Macci Plauti Comoediae. Oxford.

Lindsay ELV

Lindsay, W. M. (ed.) (1922) Early Latin Verse. Oxford.

L-K or Lindsay-Kauer

Kauer R. and W. M. Lindsay (eds.), P. Terenti Afri Comoediae. Oxford (reprinted with additions by Otto Skutsch, 1958).

Martin

Martin, R. H. (ed.) (1976) Terence: Adelphoe. Cambridge.

Maurach

Maurach, G. (1961) “Kurzvers und System bei Terenz,” Hermes 89: 373-8.

Maurach P

Maurach, G. (ed.) (1988) Der Poenulus des Plautus. Heidelberg.

McCary and Willcock

McCary, W. T. and M. M. Willcock (eds.) (1976) Plautus: Casina. Cambridge.

Petersmann

Petersmann, H. (1973) T. Maccius Plautus: Stichus. Heidelberg.

Questa or Questa 1995

Questa, C. (ed.) (1995) Titi Macci Plauti Cantica. Urbino.

Questa Num.

Questa, C. (1984) Numeri innumeri: Ricerche sui cantica e la tradizione manoscritta di Plauto. Rome.

Questa 2001

Questa C. (ed.) (2001) Titus Maccius Plautus: Casina. Urbino.

Questa 2007

Questa C. (2007) La metrica di Plauto e di Terenzio. Ludus philologiae 16. Urbino.

Willcock

Willcock, M. M. (ed.) (1987) Plautus: Pseudolus. Oak Park, IL.

Woytek

Woytek, E. (1982) T. Maccius Plautus: Persa. Vienna.

Other

acc

accompanied, accompaniment

att

attribute

beg

beginning

clo

closure

dec

deception

dia

diaeresis

dub

dubitanter

eli

elision

enj

enjambment

excl

exclamation

l

long syllable

mon

monologue or monody

per

period

quest

question mark

reg

regular

res

resolution

s

short syllable

Other Resources

Users of this database are encouraged to consult the following publications by its author for further information on Plautus and Terence’s metrical choices:

• "Music and Structure in Roman Comedy," American Journal of Philology 119 (1998) 245-273.
• "Facing the Music: Character and Musical Accompaniment in Roman Comedy," Syllecta Classica 19 (1999) 130-153.
• "Music in Persa," in Studien zu Plautus' Persa, ed. Stefan Faller (Tübingen, Gunter Narr, 2001) 255-272.
• "Music in Epidicus," in Studien zu Plautus' Epidicus, ed. Ulrike Auhagen (Tübingen, Gunter Narr, 2001) 313-334.
• "Music in a Quiet Play," in Studien zu Plautus' Poenulus, ed. Thomas Baier (Tübingen, Gunter Narr, 2004) 139-161.
• "Meter and Meaning in Cistellaria I 1," in Studien zu Plautus' Cistellaria, edd. Rolf Hartkamp and Florian Hurka (Tübingen, Gunter Narr, 2004) 319-333.
• "Terence as Musical Innovator," in Terentius Poeta, ed. P. Kruschwitz, W.W. Ehlers, and F. Felgentreu (Zetemata 127. Munich: Beck, 2007) 93-109.
• "When Did the Tibicen Play? Meter and Musical Accompaniment in Roman Comedy," Transactions of the American Philological Association 138 (2008) 3-46.
• "A Musical Merchant: The Cantica of Mercator," New England Classical Journal 37 (2010) 15-26.
• Music in Roman Comedy. Cambridge University Press, 2012 (the database differs from the database used to create the appendices of this work in the following ways: I now identify Plautus, Amph. 161-162 as incertum rather than wil?, and Terence, Hecyra 313 I now identify as an iambic septenarius).
• "Don’t Skip the Meter! Introducing Students to the Music of Roman Comedy," Classical Journal 108 (2012/13) 218-234.
• "Meter and Music," in The Blackwell Companion to Terence, edd. Antonios Augoustakis and Adriana Traill (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013) 89-110.
• "Andria: Terence’s Musical Experiment," in Form und Bedeutung im lateinischen Drama / Form and Meaning in Latin Drama, edd. Timothy J. Moore and Wolfgang Polleichtner (Bochumer Altertumswissenschaftliches Colloquium 95. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, 2013) 87-114.
• "Music and Gender in Terence’s Hecyra," in Women in the Drama of the Roman Republic, edd. Dorota Dutsch, Sharon James, and David Konstan (University of Wisconsin Press, 2015) 68-87.
• "Music and Metre," forthcoming in The Cambridge Companion to Roman Comedy, ed. Martin Dinter (Cambridge University Press).