Miles Gloriosus (literally, "boastful soldier", in Latin) is a stock character from the drama, specifically comedy, of classical Rome, and variations on this character have appeared in drama and fiction ever since.^[1] The character derives from the alazon or "braggart" of the Greek Old Comedy (e.g Aristophanes). Miles Gloriosus is also the name of a play by Plautus. Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke[[ laughter in general). ... Greek comedy is the name given to a wide genre of theatrical plays written, and performed, in Ancient Greece. ... Sketch of Aristophanes Aristophanes (Greek: , ca. ... Romeo and Juliet by Ford Madox Brown A play, written by a playwright, or dramatist, is a form of literature, almost always consisting of dialog between characters, and intended for performance rather than reading. ... Titus Macchius Plautus, generally referred to simply as Plautus, was a playwright of Ancient Rome. ...

In Commedia dell'arte, the figure of Il Capitano is a miles gloriosus.^[2] Karel Dujardins set his closely-observed scene of a traveling troupes makeshift stage against idealized ruins in the Roman Campagna: dated 1657 (Louvre Museum) Commedia dellarte (Italian: play of professional artists also interpreted as comedy of humors), also known as Extemporal Comedy, was a popular form of improvisational... Il Capitano (the Captain) is a masked character from the Commedia dellArte. ...

Plautus

The play Miles Gloriosus was written by Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254–184 B.C.), who composed over 100 comedies in Latin, adapting them from Greek originals. His source for Miles Gloriosus was a Greek play, now lost, called Alazon or The Braggart. Although the characters in Miles Gloriosus speak Latin, they are meant to be Greeks, with Greek names, clothing, and customs. The action takes place in Ephesus, a Greek city on the coast of Asia Minor, famous for its Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Plautus wrote his plays entirely in verse with certain sections designed to be sung. Accompaniment was provided by an instrument similar to an oboe. Only male actors were used, and all of them wore masks. Titus Macchius Plautus, generally referred to simply as Plautus, was a playwright of Ancient Rome. ... The alazon, in Greek comedy is the opponent of the Eiron. ... Historical Map of Ephesus, from Meyers Konversationslexikon 1888 Ephesus (Greek: , Turkish: ), was one of the cities of Ionia in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster River (Küçük Menderes) flows into the Aegean Sea. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to... The site of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Turkey. ... The Seven Wonders of the World (from left to right, top to bottom): Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum of Maussollos, Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. ... Verse is a writing that uses meter as its primary organisational mode, as opposed to prose, which uses grammatical and discoursal units like sentences and paragraphs. ... The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... This article is about masks fitted on the face as an article of clothing or equipment. ...

Plot summary

The play begins with Pyrgopolynices (Fighter of Many Fortresses), a braggart soldier, entering, escorted by three dependents and a parasite, Artotrogus (Bread Gobbler), who earns his meals by flattering the soldier excessively. Then we meet a crafty slave named Palaestrio (Wrestler), who explains, in a delayed prologue, how he has come to be the soldier's slave. Formerly he served a young Athenian, Pleusicles (Sailor), whose girlfriend, Philocomasium, was kidnapped from Athens and taken by our braggart soldier. When Palaestrio tried to reach his master with this bad news, the slave was seized by pirates and sold, by chance, to the same soldier, so both he and the girl have been living in the soldier's house in Ephesus. But Palaestrio has sent a letter secretly to his former master, telling him where they are. Now Pleusicles has come to Ephesus and is staying with a helpful old man who lives right next door to the soldier. The crafty slave has cut a hole in the wall between the two houses, enabling Philocomasium to visit her boyfriend without the soldier's knowledge. Slave redirects here. ... A prologue (Greek πρόλογος, from προ~, pro~ - fore~, and lógos, word), or rarely prolog, is a prefatory piece of writing, usually composed to introduce a drama. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα - Athína) is the largest city and capital of Greece, located in the Attica periphery of central Greece. ...

Unfortunately, the next-door neighbor, Periplectomenus (Entangler), is frantic because some unknown slave from the soldier's house, while chasing a monkey on the roof, has observed Philocomasium and her lover kissing in Periplectomenus' house. With Palaestrio's help he chastises his slaves for not having caught the man. Then he and Palaestrio dream up a plan to fool the soldier's slave into believing that the girl he saw kissing was actually Philocomasium's twin sister, recently arrived from Athens with her boyfriend. At that moment the slave himself, Sceledrus (Criminal), conveniently turns up. Palaestrio, Philocomasium, and Periplectomenus succeed in confusing him so much that he despairs and runs away.

Palaestrio enlists the aid of the next-door neighbor and Pleusicles to pull off another scheme that he has cooked up: Periplectomenus will ask a lady friend of his to pretend to be his wife. Palaestrio will convince the soldier that this woman hates her elderly husband and is madly in love with the soldier, hoping this will prompt him to lose interest in Philocomasium and seduce another man's wife. Palaestrio will tell the soldier that Philocomasium's mother and sister from Athens happen to be visiting Ephesus that very day and could take her home with them. Pleusicles will dress up like a ship captain and bring some sailors with him to escort her to the harbor. While Periplectomenus goes off to find his lady friend and Pleusicles goes off to find a disguise, Palaestrio has a brief encounter with Artotrogus, who has been enjoying himself in the soldier's kitchen.

The old man returns with his lady friend, Acroteleutium (Highest Point), and her maid Milphidippa; they go inside his house to prepare to fool the soldier. Pyrgopolynices comes back home and runs into Palaestrio, who gives him a ring, supposedly from Acroteleutium, and tells him how much the woman loves him. Milphidippa emerges from the neighbor's house and confirms Palaestrio's story. The soldier rushes into his own house to tell Philocomasium that he is sending her home. As soon as he reappears, Acroteleutium and Milphidippa complete their trickery.

Pleusicles, wearing his disguise, arrives to escort Philocomasium to the ship where she pretends to be reluctant to leave the soldier, but the sailors' music hastens her departure. The soldier agrees to let her take Palaestrio with her as a consolation present. Two slave-boys invite the soldier to come into the neighbor's house and meet Acroteleutium. He enters, only to find the old man and the cook waiting to give him the punishment he deserves. In consequence, Pyrgopolynices learns more about himself and the world around him—a happy ending for all, with a moral to go with it. A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which most everything turns out for the best for the hero or heroine, their sidekicks, and just about everyone but the villains. ... A moral is a one sentence remark made at the end of many childrens stories that expresses the intended meaning, or the moral message, of the tale. ...

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

In the Stephen Sondheim musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Miles Gloriosus is the main antagonist. True to the character's roots in the productions of Plautus, Miles is a rude, crude, self centered, barbaric, and adored military captain. In this play, he has come to claim his bride, purchased from the procuror of courtesans, Marcus Lycus. The protagonist of the play, the slave named Pseudolus, has also promised the girl to his master, Hero. When Miles appears, and no bride is present, Pseudolus must keep him happy as while 'searching' for the bride. Cleverly, Pseudolus tricks his co-slave into posing as the bride, apparently dead. The play climaxes when, after much trickery and a thrilling chase around the theater, it is discovered that the girl is Miles' sister. Another irony is that the strange old man, Erronious, is Miles' father. Miles, not given to incest, orders Lycus arrested and takes two twins for his harem instead. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Hi! Youre car can speak <a href=http://immobilizer. ...

Other uses

The term "Miles Gloriosus" is occasionally applied in a contemporary context to refer to a posturing and self-deceiving boaster or bully.

References

1. ^ Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, p 172, ISBN 0-691-01298-9
2. ^ John Rudlin, Commedia dell'Arte: An Actor's Handbook, p 120, ISBN 0415-047706

Herman Northrop Frye, CC, MA, D.Litt. ... Northrop Fryes Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays (Princeton University Press, 1957) attempts to formulate an overall view of the scope, theory, principles, and techniques of literary criticism derived exclusively from literature. ...

External link

• St Olaf’s Classics Department.