Miles Gloriosus

This article is about the stock character. For the Plautus play, see Miles Gloriosus (play).

Miles Gloriosus (literally, "braggart-soldier", in Latin) is a stock character of a boastful soldier from the comic theatre of ancient Rome, and variations on this character have appeared in drama and fiction ever since.^[1] The character derives from the alazôn or "braggart" of the Greek Old Comedy (e.g. Aristophanes). The term "Miles Gloriosus" is occasionally applied in a contemporary context to refer to a posturing and self-deceiving boaster or bully.

Literary instances

In the play Miles Gloriosus by Plautus, the term applies to the main character Pyrgopolynices. This foolish Miles Gloriosus brags openly and often about his supposed greatness, while the rest of the characters feign their admiration and secretly plot against him. Heavily borrowing from Plautus, the Stephen Sondheim-Burt Shevelove-Larry Gelbart musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum features a warrior named Miles Gloriosus.

Shakespeare uses the type most notably with the worthless Captain Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well and with Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

In Commedia dell'arte, the figure of Il Capitano is a miles gloriosus.^[2]

In music, the title role of Háry János by Kodály is an example of the character.

Notes

1. ^ Frye (1957, 172).
2. ^ John Rudlin, Commedia dell'Arte: An Actor's Handbook, p 120, ISBN 0415-047706

References

• Frye, Northrop. 1957. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. London: Penguin, 1990. ISBN 0140124802.

This culture-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Culture stubs Fictional military personnel Latin literary phrases Stock characters Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? Black-billed Magpie Metric tensor Look at other dictionaries: Miles Gloriosus — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Miles Gloriosus o El soldado fanfarrón es una de las obras más conocidas del dramaturgo latino Plauto (Sársina, Romaña, 254 a. C. Roma, 184 a. C.). La obra tiene lugar en Éfeso (Asia menor), y… …   Wikipedia Español Miles gloriosus — o El soldado fanfarrón es una de las obras más conocidas del dramaturgo latino Plauto (Sársina, Romaña, 254 a. C. Roma, 184 a. C.). La obra tiene lugar en Éfeso (Asia menor), y está dividida en cinco actos. Personajes… …   Wikipedia Español miles gloriosus — [mī′lēz΄ glō΄rē ō′səs] n. 〚L〛 a braggart, swashbuckling soldier, esp. as a stock character in classical comedy * * * ▪ stock figure also called  Braggart Warrior        stock figure in theatrical comedies from Roman times to the present whose… …   Universalium Miles gloriosus —   [lateinisch »der ruhmredige Soldat«], sprichwörtlich gewordene Titelgestalt einer Komödie von Plautus.   * * * Mi|les glo|ri|o|sus, der; [lat. miles gloriosus = ruhmrediger Soldat (Titelheld eines Lustspiels von Plautus)] (bildungsspr.):… …   Universal-Lexikon Miles gloriŏsus — (lat., »ruhmrediger Soldat«), Titel eines Lustspiels von Plautus; daher sprichwörtlich soviel wie Eisenfresser, Bramarbas (s. Capitano). Vgl. Fest, Der M. g. in der französischen Komödie (Leipz. 1897); v. Stockmayer, Das deutsche Soldatenstück… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon Miles gloriosus — Miles gloriōsus (lat.), ruhmrediger Soldat, sprichwörtlich gewordene Hauptfigur eines Stückes von Plautus …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon miles gloriosus — [mī′lēz΄ glō΄rē ō′səs] n. [L] a braggart, swashbuckling soldier, esp. as a stock character in classical comedy …   English World dictionary Miles Gloriosus — Der Miles Gloriosus (lat.), auf Deutsch der glorreiche Soldat, ist ein Typus der Weltliteratur, der vor allem in Lustspielen auftritt. Er tritt bereits in der Antike in einer gleichnamigen Komödie bei Plautus auf, der diesen Typus wiederum aus… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Miles gloriosus — Le Soldat fanfaron Le Capitan Gravure du XVIIe siècle Le Soldat fanfaron (Miles gloriosus en latin) est la plus longue comédie de Plaute (1437 vers). Pyrgopolinice, mercenaire vaniteux, hâbleur et lubrique a enlevé Philo …   Wikipédia en Français miles gloriosus — noun A standard character in ancient comedy and in modern comedy depicting ancient military figures: the bravado filled, self important, swaggering soldier. [I]t of course ought not to be said that the General who assumes the responsibility… …   Wiktionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”