Funny Thing Happened on the

Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum was a Roman-inspired stage play, from which a movie was derived. The movie is a classic Roman comedy, and this can be seen in particular in the characters utilized. The majority of the characters are stock characters traditional of Roman theatre. Some of the characters even use the stock name -- Senex for example is a senex character. These characters are essential to Roman theatre, in particular its comedies.

In addition, Roman theatre revolves around specific plots, and the plot that guides this movie is one of those. The character interactions within this plot structure are similar to what could be found in a more traditional Roman comedy. This paper will analyze three of these characters and show how these characters identify this movie as a classic Roman comedy.

While the movie itself is a modern musical, if that musical element was removed, then the remaining comedy element would be easily understood and appreciated by a Roman audience, because the characters and the plot are immediately familiar. Erronius is the character of the next door neighbor. He plays a fool role, and serves to promote the comedy of the movie. For example, he has poor eyesight, which leads to a few gaffes.

He also is easily duped, leading him to comedic situations such as having a false soothsayer convince him to run around Rome seven times in order to learn the whereabouts of his children. This type of character is popular in Roman comedy because of his penchant for the outrageous. This character can often be a major driver of the plot, despite not truly being a central character.

One way that this film makes a departure from Roman tradition is that this character is not a slave, but in the movie is a neighbor. However, he still wears the scarf, which on the Roman stage would indicate that he is a slave. The bumbling fool is a character that generates significant humor in the play, although the character himself typically will not intend to be funny. Another character is Pseudolus, who is another slave character.

Slaves in general comprised a significant amount of Roman stage, despite their low status in Roman life. In this case, a portion of the plot revolves around the exploits of Pseudolus, who plays the devious version of the servi character, which is a stock character in Roman theatre. This character is unscrupulous and seeks to free himself from his bondage. His willingness to deceive helps to drive the plot, and he regularly interferes with the other main characters.

This servi character is another one of the stock characters in Roman theatre. Pseudolus carries a large portion of the dialogue and appears in most of the scenes. Pseudolus introduces the characters and scenes in the movie's opening, and speaks directly to the audience. While one is not expected to find sympathy with the character, it is recognized that the servi character, particularly Pseudolus, is the best-informed character and his machinations directly impact most of what occurs in the movie.

The character of Miles Gloriosus is named after the Roman character archetype. The name refers to a braggart soldier. This character typically is full of himself, viewing himself as superior. For example when Marcus Lycus says that he is dazzled by Miles' presence, Miles responds "Everyone is." Miles Gloriosus serves the plot by providing a comedic counterpoint to the protagonist of the play, the adulescens character.

The braggart soldier is a traditional archetype in Roman theatre, largely because the character was familiar to Romans as a part of their everyday life. Such people were easy targets for humor and on stage they were typically portrayed as living up to very few of the virtues that they saw in themselves. In this movie, Miles Gloriosus competes for the same girl as Hero, the adulescens character. This dynamic is typical of Roman theatre, because the adulescens character is typically weak, an underdog against the intimidating soldier.

The soldier's inherent weakness however is a combination of arrogance and stupidity, and this leads to his failure, such as not getting the girl, which is what happens in this movie. What characterizes A.