Love and gastronomy in Plautus’ comedy

Abstract

The fabula palliata is a romantic genre. Conventionally,  love is one of the lines that make up the dramatic plot and shape characters. In several comedies, moreover, there is a direct relationship between the appearance of gastronomic elements and the fruitful/unfruitful  development of the love plot, which sometimes ends in the celebration of a final banquet on stage. I am particularly interested in analyzing the dramaturgical development of both elements in the whole of the Plautine production, since, as the production of the Sarsinate progresses, it can be observed that the conjunction between love and  gastronomy functions as an element of theatrical  innovation and comic transgression of the stereotyped rules of the Roman genre.