Launching a much-needed new series discussing each comedy that survives
from the ancient world, this volume is a vital companion to Terence's
earliest comedy, Andria, highlighting its context, themes, staging and
legacy. Ideal for students it assumes no knowledge of Latin, but is
helpful also for scholars wanting a quick introduction. This will be the
first port of call for anyone studying or researching the play.
Though Andria launched Terence's career as a dramatist at Rome, it has
attracted comparatively little attention from modern critics. It is
nevertheless a play of great interest, not least for the sensitivity
with which it portrays family relationships and for its influence on
later dramatists. It also presents students of Roman comedy with all the
features that came to characterize Terence's particular version of
traditional comedy, and it raises all the interpretive questions that
have dogged the study of Terence for generations. This volume will use a
close reading of the play to explore the central issues in understanding
Terence's style of play-making and its legacy.