This volume was originally published in 1965 at a time when there was a revival of interest in Roman Drama on the stage, especially Plautus. The book discusses Plautine themes and his audience as well as the long literary traditions of the Amphitryo and the Miles Gloriosus. It also discusses the influence of Seneca – on Corneille and the French baroque theatre, and on Shakespeare and the Elizabethan stage which is reconsidered in the light of new understanding of the drama of violence. There is also a reevaluation of Menander.