Miles Gloriosus is a comic play written by Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254–184 BC). The title can be translated as "The Swaggering Soldier" or "Vainglorious Soldier". His source for Miles Gloriosus was a Greek play, now lost, called Alazon or The Braggart.Cf. line 86 of the play. Although the characters in Miles Gloriosus speak Latin, they are Greeks and largely have 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.
The play is thought to date from early in Plautus's career, partly because it contains no polymetric songs (which became frequent in the later plays), and partly because lines 210–211 have been taken as a reference to the temporary imprisonment of the poet Gnaeus Naevius in 206 BC.Hammond, Mason; Mack, Arthur; Moskalew, Walter (1963). Plautus: Miles Gloriosus (Harvard University Press), pp. 23–24.
At 1,437 lines this is Plautus's longest surviving play. Some scholars have suggested that it may combine two Greek originals; others have thought this unlikely. De Melo, however, suggests that Periplectomenus's long scene of self-praise (596–812) may come from another play; and the scene with Lurcio, which is not well integrated into the story, is also thought to be an addition invented by Plautus.de Melo, W. (2011): The Braggart Soldier (Loeb Classical Library), pp. 134–135.
Plot summary Backstory and prologue The play commences with the entrance of Pyrgopolynices (the alazon stock character 'Miles Gloriosus' of the play's title), looking heroic and posing in a pompous manner. Several minions carry the soldier's monstrous shield, and behind him is his "parasite", Artotrogus, who earns his meals by flattering the soldier excessively. The soldier constantly boasts about his accomplishments and portrays himself as a fantastic military hero. In reality, his accomplishments are far smaller, hence the play's title. These opening moments give the audience a sense of Pyrgopolynices' true nature.
After the soldier leaves the stage, Palaestrio, one of the main characters of the play, introduces himself. He tells the audience that he is a slave who formerly served a young Athenian, Pleusicles. Pleusicles had a girlfriend named Philocomasium, who was kidnapped from Athens by Pyrgopolynices, the soldier. When Palaestrio tried to reach his master with this bad news, the slave was seized by pirates and given, by chance, to the same soldier. Both he and the girl have been living in the soldier's house in Ephesus, but Palaestrio secretly sent a letter to his former master telling him where they are. Pleusicles has come to Ephesus and is staying with Periplectomenus, who lives next door to the soldier, and the cunning Palaestrio has cut a hole in the wall so the two lovers can meet one another.
Palaestrio's Trickery Periplectomenus, an older man of Ephesus, then enters, worried because he has caught Sceledrus, one of Pyrgopolynices' slaves, on the roof, looking in through the skylight. This slave claims he was chasing a monkey, but Periplectomenus is sure that Philocomasium has been seen kissing her lover Pleusicles.
Palaestrio comes up with a plan to tell Pyrgopolynices that Philocomasium has a twin sister visiting Ephesus with her lover and mother and staying with Periplectomenus. Should Sceledrus make accusations, Palaestrio will refute the claim and say it is her twin. Periplectomenus goes back inside to tell Philocomasium what has happened and tell her the plan. Meanwhile, Philocomasium goes through the hole in the wall back into Pyrgopolynices' house, emerging from that house shortly afterward with Palaestrio. Philocomasium tells Sceledrus that she had a dream that her twin sister had arrived from Athens. Sceledrus has his doubts, so Philocomasium goes back into Pyrgopolynices' house, then through the hole in the wall and comes out of the other house as her twin sister. Meanwhile, Sceledrus stands guard outside Pyrgopolynices' house. Philocomasium comes out of Periplectomenus' front door, giving orders to slaves inside. She challenges Sceledrus when he addresses her as Philocomasium, and her manner is that of a free woman. She says her name is Dicea and that she has arrived the previous night from Athens and wants to try to find her twin sister Philocomasium. Sceledrus is now convinced. He promises Palaestrio that he will not speak of this again. Just then, Periplectomenus comes out and is furious at Sceledrus and how he has treated his "lady guest." He threatens to have him whipped but gets over it right away. Sceledrus is distrustful and believes that Periplectomenus and Palaestrio are plotting to catch him when the soldier returns home. He declares that he will lie low for a few days until the matter has cooled.
The Plan to Fight the Braggart Palaestrio the slave, Periplectomenus the old man, and Pleusicles the young Athenian, all emerge from the house. Palaestrio has yet another plan to bring down Pyrgopolynices and get Philocomasium back. On request, Periplectomenus hands his ring to Palaestrio, who then explains his plan. He needs Periplectomenus to find an accomplished and beautiful woman, one who can act the part of Periplectomenus' wife and claim to be desperate to leave Periplectomenus for Pyrgopolynices. He also stipulates that this woman should have a maid. Periplectomenus knows just the woman: Acroteleutium, who has a maid called Milphidippa. He brings both women back to his house, explaining the scheme and their role in it. Meanwhile, Palaestrio tells Pyrgopolynices all about Periplectomenus' "wife" and gives him the ring. Pyrgopolynices agrees to meet her but doesn't know what to do with Philocomasium. Palaestrio tells him to let her go, and to let her keep all the gold and jewels that he got her so that she would not be upset.
Pyrgopolynices follows Palaestrio's advice and runs inside to tell Philocomasium. Moments later, he comes back and tells the audience he has succeeded. He gave her everything that she wanted, and he even gave her Palaestrio! At this time, Acroteleutium has come out of the house and begun to describe what she is feeling for the soldier. She proclaims that she can't take it anymore, and that her eyes will cut off her tongue when she catches a glimpse of him. The two meet, and Acroteleutium tells Pyrgopolynices to come to her husband's house. Pyrgopolynices is hesitant in this, but she explains that it was in her dowry that she is the one who gets to keep the house. The soldier tells her to wait inside for him. Just then, Pleusicles enters, dressed as a sailor, to inform Philocomasium that her boat is leaving.
The End of the Play
The soldier says his final good-byes to Palaestrio and Philocomasium. Then a boy comes out of Periplectomenus's house and informs him that Acroteleutium is expecting him. As he is entering, he is ambushed by Periplectomenus and some slaves including his cook, Cario, who threatens to castrate the adulterer with his knife and hang his testicles round his neck. The men drag him into the street and begin to beat him for trying to make advances on a married woman. Pyrgopolynices begs them to stop; eventually giving the men a hundred drachmae to halt their punches. The men leave the beaten soldier to his own devices, after carrying off his tunic, sword and cloak. Suddenly, Sceledrus returns from accompanying Philocomasium to the port, and tells the soldier what really happened. Pyrgopolynices realizes that he has been tricked by Palaestrio. The play comes to an end when an actor tells the audience to applaud.
Metrical structure
The division of Plautus's comedies into five acts is not thought to go back to Plautus's time, despite the fact that his Greek models were so divided. Instead the plays seem to have been articulated by changes of metre. Often in Plautus's plays a metrical section will begin with iambic senarii (which were spoken without music), then optionally a scene of music in various metres, and finally a scene in trochaic septenarii, which were recited to the accompaniment of (a pair of reed pipes). Moore calls this the "ABC succession", where A = iambic senarii, B = other metres, C = trochaic septenarii.Moore, Timothy J. (2012), Music in Roman Comedy. Cambridge University Press, pp. 237-42, 253-8, 305-8, 367-71. However, as in this play, the ABC order is sometimes varied.
Looked at in this light, the play can be divided into six sections, as follows:This scheme follows C. W. Marshall (2016), The stagecraft and performance of Roman comedy (Cambridge), who considers that the metrical sections begin each time with the unaccompanied iambic senarii. ACBC, AC, ABCB, ACB, AC, AC
The Miles Gloriosus is unusual in that, unlike all of Plautus's other plays, there are no polymetric , or any songs in cretic or bacchiac metres; in fact only four metres are used in the whole play. The four musical "B" passages, as Moore points out, are all scenes involving women, and use these two metres: Iambic septenarii (354–425): Philocomasium Iambic septenarii (874–946): Acroteleutium Anapaestic septenarii (1011–1093): Milphidippa Iambic septenarii (1216–1283): Acroteleutium and Milphidippa
Iambic septenarii were sung to, or accompanied by music, and are frequently used in Roman comedy in scenes associated with love.Moore, Timothy J. (2012), Music in Roman Comedy. Cambridge University Press, pp. 185, 202.
It has been suggested that the has a symmetrical construction.Maurice, Lisa (2007). "Structure and Stagecraft in Plautus' Miles Gloriosus". Mnemosyne, Fourth Series, Vol. 60, Fasc. 3, pp. 407–426. The opening, describing the arrogance of Pyrgopolynices and his abduction of Philocomasium, is mirrored by the ending, describing the rescue of Philocomasium and the humiliation of the soldier; while the two tricks played against the slave Sceledrus balance the two tricks played against Pyrgopolynices. A similar symmetrical scheme has been detected in the Bacchides.Clark, John R. (1976). "Structure and Symmetry in the Bacchides of Plautus". Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-2014), Vol. 106, pp. 85–96.
The tricking of Sceledrus (i) Act 1–2.1 (1–155): iambic senarii (155 lines) The soldier Pyrgopolynices orders some slaves to polish his shield and boasts about his prowess in imaginary battles. Artotrogus, a parasite in search of a meal, flatters him about his battles and his good looks. They leave for the forum so that the soldier can "enlist mercenaries for King Seleucus".
When the soldier has gone, the slave Palaestrio tells the audience the background to the play. He says that formerly he lived in Athens as slave to a young man who was in love with a courtesan who loved him equally. Once, when the young man was away, the soldier had carried off the girl against her will to Ephesus to be his concubine. Palaestrio himself had set out on a boat to inform his master, but had been captured by pirates and by chance ended up enslaved to the same Pyrgopolynices. He had managed to get a message to his former master, who had come to Ephesus and was staying in the next-door house; and Palaestrio had secretly made a hole in the dividing wall so that the lovers could meet.
Act 2.2–2.3 (156–353): trochaic septenarii (200 lines) Periplectomenus, the old man who owns the house next door, gives Palaestrio some bad news: one of Pyrgopolynices' slaves has climbed on the roof of the house, apparently chasing an escaped monkey, and through the skylight () has spotted the young man and the girl kissing together. Palaestrio thinks for a while (it seems that here Palaestrio does a gestural dance in time to the music and Periplectomenus's words)Moore, Music in Roman Comedy, p. 119. and comes up with a plan: they must pretend that the girl he saw is her twin sister. Periplectomenus goes back inside to warn Philocomasium to return to the soldier's house immediately.