The language of the cantica of Plautus

Abstract

This thesis began as a study to support the theory that "poetic" language, such as it is in Plautus, occurs mainly in the cantica and a comparison was to be drawn between the "poetic" and non-"poetic" areas of the plays. The basis for the study was created from a word-by- word analysis of all the solo cantica, or more exactly the mutatis modis cantica which are the equivalent of arias as opposed to the chanted recitative passages in unvarying iambic or trochaic metres. Once the task was under way it soon became apparent that the original surmise was incorrect: the general conclusion of this thesis disproves any concentration of "poetic" words in the cantica, for such words in cantica also occur in other areas of the plays, and random checks in spoken passages often show a greater proportion of "poetic" words and metaphors.