The Swaggering Soldier

THE SWAGGERING SOLDIER

PROLOGUE

·  The Prologue is spoken by Palaestrio, a young, artful and sophisticated slave. He explains the title and plot of the play.

·  The play is an adaptation of a Greek play called “Alazon” – the Braggart, which in Latin has been

translated as “gloriosus” meaning boastful or swaggering.

·  The setting of the play is the town of Ephesus.

·  Pyrgopolynices, the swaggering soldier of the title, is the lord and master of Palaestrio.

·  Palaestrio has an extremely low opinion of Pyrgopolynices – “a dirty liar, a boastful, arrogant,

despicable perjurer and adulterer.”

·  Pyrgopolynices thinks all women are after him but in fact he is an object of derision.

·  Palaestrio has only recently moved to Ephesus. his former home was in Athens. There his master

Pleusicles loved an Athenian woman called Philocomasium. While Pleusicles was away on a

diplomatic mission to Naupactus, Pyrgopolynices came to Athens, abducted Philocomasium and

brought her back to Ephesus.

·  Palaestrio immediately set out by boat to Naupactus to inform his master of the abduction but was

unfortunately captured by pirates and given as a present to Pyrgopolynices.

·  On arriving at Pyrgopolynices’ house in Ephesus, Palaestrio meets Philocomasium who warns him with a wink not to betray knowledge of their friendship.

·  Palaestrio manages to send a letter to Pleusicles, begging him to come to Ephesus.

·  Pleusicles is now staying in the house next door as the guest of Periplectomenus, an elderly gentleman and friend of his father. Periplectomenus is aware of Pleusicles’ plight and is doing his best to help.

·  To enable the lovers to meet, Palaestrio has had a hole cut in the party wall between Philocomasium’s room and the adjoining house.

·  Periplectomenus knows about it and in fact suggested it

·  A slave, Sceledrus, has been detailed by Pyrgopolynices to keep an eye on Philocomasium but Palaestrio has plans to bamboozle him by pretending there are two two girls who look identical, one living in the house of Pyrgopolynices, the other in that of Periplectomenus. Palaestrio, in informing the audience of this plan, tells them that they should be aware of the deception about to take place.