Plautus’ Onomastic-Linguistic Awareness

Abstract

Plautus is among the most extensively studied authors from an onomastic perspective, with a substantial body of scholarship devoted to recurring character types across his comedies and to the relationships between them within individual plays. This sustained interest stems from his use of nomina loquentia (‘speaking names’), derived from Greek models and systematically assigned to both major and minor characters—an element that Italian translators have sought to replicate with varying degrees of success. Yet, beyond this formal feature lies a deeper reflection on the intersection of proper names and the broader ‘question of language.’ In this light, Plautus emerges not only as a representative of a genre-wide convention, characteristic of the palliata, but also as an author who exhibits a distinctive onomastic-linguistic awareness. This awareness, though subtly woven into his texts, belongs to the wider spectrum of expressive originality long recognized in his dramatic work. This article presents a selective analysis—through exempla and specimina—of key passages from Plautus’ comedies, highlighting how proper names function not merely as comedic or rhetorical devices, but also as vehicles for expressive and artistic innovation.