The escape of the mother-in-law: poetry, humor and family in Hecyra

• Grant number: 12/00726-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2012
• End date: December 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Literature - Classical Languages
• Principal Investigator: Isabella Tardin Cardoso
• Grantee: Aline da Silva Lazaro Bragion
• Host Institution: Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem (IEL). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The subject of this project is the comedy Hecyra ("The mother-in-law") written by Terence (185-159 BC) - an intriguing play which is not very much studied in Brazil. At the present moment of the investigation, translation and analysis of the initial parts of the play are aimed: namely of the so called "Prologue I', "Prologue II" and the first act. The existence of the two prologues, both dealing with revivals of Hecyra, leads researchers to believe the play was stagings three times in the period it was written. A closer reading of how the prologues narrates the previous events of the play itself may provide a not so "literal" interpretation to such passages. In the analysis of the first scenes themselves, attention to how central themes to the piece are introduced (namely the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, sexual violence, misogyny and the conflict between men and women) will be given. Through annotated translation and study, the project aims, therefore, to look closely at these two introdutory instances to the piece. Key words: Hecyra, Terence, latin comedy, prologues, latin literature. (AU)