2. Read Jean Giraudoux’s Amphitryon 38 (1929). In what ways is this play a tragicomedy as the term is commonly understood today? Discuss some of the most important adaptations Giraudoux has made to Plautus's Amphitryon (you may, for example, want to focus on his highly innovative treatments of the characters of Jupiter and Alcmena).
3. Both Plautus's Captivi and Rudens feature characters who move from unjust circumstances (such as enslavement, loss of autonomy, prostitution, violence, separation from family) to presumably happy (post-play) outcomes, in other words, from tragedy to comedy. Drawing on your experience (personal, educational, etc.) as well as characters or situations from either or both plays, do such reversals in personal status and happiness seem plausible and rationally motivated or are they simply arbitrary happenstances?
4. Discuss to what extent Terence’s Adelphoe is a potentially useful source/guide for parents considering how to raise their children today. Does the ancient play productively address pertinent and complex issues still relevant to nurturing and educating children in the 21st century?
5. Seneca's Atreus in Thyestes embodies a type of human personality (insatiable, authoritarian, monomanical, narcissistic, vengeful, domineering, insecure) that unfortunately has a long history in our species. Compare and contrast a contemporary or historical figure who resembles Atreus in personality traits and behaviors.
6. Write an imaginative monologue by Medea set after Seneca’s tragedy (Medea), that is, after she has had time to reflect upon her very extreme and destructive actions in the play. What specific thoughts and emotions do you imagine her experiencing in this reflective moment?
7. Analyze the related motifs of food and hunger as they are developed in Seneca’s Thyestes. How do these motifs contribute to an understanding of the play’s broader themes(s) and meaning(s)?
8. Compare and contrast Seneca’s Medea and Euripides’ Medea, with a focus on how each play represents the main (i.e. titular) character. In what significant ways does Seneca diverge from Euripides in his treatment of Medea? What are the larger effects of Seneca’s departures?