GROUP 1 |
GROUP 2 |
GROUP 3 |
GROUP 4 |
GROUP 5 |
GROUP 6 |
GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Group 1: How does the parasite Ergasilus function in the play and does he ultimately get what he wants? Does he counterbalance the more serious aspects of Captivi? Where does he fit within the play's themes of slavery?
Group 2: How do Hegio's slave-enforcers (Guard in Scenes 2-3, Boxer in Scene 9) contribute to the play and its representation of slavery?
Group 3: How would you describe Hegio's style of slaveholding and maintaining his authority as paterfamilias? Is he in any way a sympathetic character (note especially Scene 9)?
Group 4: What picture of the master/slave relationship does Tyndarus give (both when he speaks as himself to Philocrates in Scene 3 and when he speaks to Hegio while pretending to be Philocrates in Scene 4)?
Group 5: What picture of the master/slave relationship does Philocrates give (both when he speaks as himself to Tyndarus in Scene 3 and when he speaks to Hegio while pretending to be Tyndarus in Scene 4)?
Group 6: What happens to the chains placed on Philocrates and Tyndarus at the beginning of the play and who wears them in the end? What aspect(s) of slavery do chains suggest or symbolize in the play?