Roman Laughter

Roman Laughter: The Comedy of Plautus
Author	Erich Segal
Publisher	Harvard University Press
Publication date	1968

Last updated December 14, 2025

Roman Laughter: The Comedy of Plautus is a book by Erich Segal, published by the Harvard University Press in 1968. It is a scholarly study of the work of the ancient Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus,^[1] whose "twenty complete comedies constitute the largest extant corpus of classical dramatic literature".^[2]

James W. Halporn, in a review in The Classical Journal , criticised Segal's "serious misunderstanding of Freudian psychology and his real lack of grasp of important Plautine scholarship" which in Halporn's view made the work as a whole "superficial, inaccurate, and misleading".^[3]

References

↑ John, Whitehorne (1992). "Erich Segal, "Roman Laughter. The Comedy of Plautus" (Book Review)". Ancient History Resources for Teachers. 22 (1). North Ryde: Macquarie University.
↑ Segal, Erich (1968). Roman laughter; the comedy of Plautus. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 1.
↑ Halporn, James W. (1970). "Review of Roman Laughter, the Comedy of Plautus". The Classical Journal. 65 (5): 234–236. ISSN 0009-8353.

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[1] John, Whitehorne (1992). "Erich Segal, "Roman Laughter. The Comedy of Plautus" (Book Review)". Ancient History Resources for Teachers. 22 (1). North Ryde: Macquarie University.

[2] Segal, Erich (1968). Roman laughter; the comedy of Plautus. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 1.

[3] Halporn, James W. (1970). "Review of Roman Laughter, the Comedy of Plautus". The Classical Journal. 65 (5): 234–236. ISSN 0009-8353.

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