Shakespeare and Plautus: exploring metrical influence

Scholars have recognized for some time that Shakespeare’s early comedies drew much from Plautine comedy. Although these points of influence have long been established, discussion of Plautus’ influence on Shakespeare has not often moved beyond them to broader questions of whether he had any influence over Shakespeare’s tragedies, over his later career in general, or over more specific techniques of playwriting, like characterization or metrical composition. This article takes up these latter two issues. I argue that Shakespeare’s use of metrical variation in his most sympathetic characters’ soliloquies correlates closely with Plautus’ practice of using polymetric songs to introduce his most sympathetic characters. As examples, I analyse Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Plautus’ Trinummus. Though no conclusive evidence can be found to prove that Shakespeare digested Plautus’ metrics in addition to his comic plots, the article suggests that Plautus’ influence on Shakespeare could run deeper than previously thought.