Phraseology and Literature: The Parasite in Plautus’s Comedies

Abstract

The works of Plautus are a boundless source of knowledge that allows to explore the many resources offered by the Latin language. Among these resources, Phraseology stands out, given the close relationship between Plautus’s comedies and everyday life. The characters in the plays belong to very different social and economic classes, and these differences are also reflected in the language in general and in Phraseology in particular. Following this line of thought, I analyze the phraseological units that Plautus puts in the mouth of the character of the parasite in order to study the close relationship between Phraseology and the depiction of characters.