Out of anger or madness, but always out of love

The amator furens in Plautus: Asinaria and Cistellaria

Abstract

In at least two of Plautus' comedies, Asinaria and Cistellaria, we can find a rather singular dramaturgical standard concerning the mask of the adulescens or lover. This dramaturgical mechanism characterises this mask differently from the typical mask of the adulescens in love, who is always sad, resigned and desperate. We shall call this mask the mask of the amator furens and see why. We can identify the somatic features of the amator furens in one of the clay masks found on Lipari.