40 pages 1 hour read

The Braggart Soldier

Fiction | Play | Adult | BCE

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Themes

The Valorization of the Military

While soldiers in ancient Roman society were valorized, Plautus turns the social structure on its head by framing Pyrgopolynices as a figure who is laughable because he valorizes himself. Of course, in The Braggart Soldier, the soldier in question isn’t simply mocked for bragging— – he’s mocked for being a braggart who lies about his conquests. Pyrgopolynices is a false soldier, who takes on the title and the glory without risking his life. When the king asks him to round up soldiers to fight, Pyrgopolynices pays mercenaries and then commissions his parasite, Artotrogus, to deliver them. He has no credibility to attract non-mercenary soldiers. Artotrogus’s tales of the soldier’s valor are not only false, they’re impossible. The parasite claims that Pyrgopolynices “puffed away […] legions with a single breath” and punching an elephant in India, breaking his “arm to smithereens” (3) with his fist. Artotrogus claims that the soldier once killed seven thousand in a single day, and Pyrgopolynices seems to believe him.

Through the character of Pyrgopolynices, Plautus is not necessarily critiquing the military per se or soldiers who have fought. During Plautus’s lifetime, the Roman empire was growing through conquest and empiricism as Rome fought Carthage in the three Punic Wars to conquer the Mediterranean.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 40 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools