A critical analysis of the play Pot Of Gold

The Pot Of Gold was written by Plautus sometime before 184 BC. The play deals with the theme of greed and avarice of a person with money because he values it above everything else in the world. The story is about a miserly old man named Euclio, who discovers a pot of gold hidden in his house by his forefather. After this discovery, he grows suspicious of everyone and starts doubting every person that he meets. He accuses his housemaid Staphyla of learning about his treasure and spreading a word about it. Therefore, we can say that the play 'pot of gold' has a very interesting plot.

The play also runs a sub-plot along with the main plot. In the subplot, we can observe the story of Lyconides which runs parallelly along with the original plot. Euclio's daughter Phaedria is seduced by a young boy named Lyconides under the influence of alcohol and is later seen to be carrying the child of Lyconides in her womb. This subplot plays a very important role in the original story. Both of the stories running parallelly later meet at one point in the climax of the play when Lyconides reveals himself in front of Euclio.

The play presents a clear reflection of society. It mentions the various topics that can be seen in society on a daily basis. The marriage ceremony that takes place in the play, gives out a real picture of a regular society. The mention of dowry is also the portrayal of the harsh custom that was seen very often in the earlier society. Dowry is one of the major problems encircling society since the beginning of civilization. From time to time it can be seen that authors have brought out the issues of society through their writings. Similarly, slavery is another such aspect that was seen in the society until the last century. The possession of slaves is also very clearly presented in the play throughout the character of Lyconides 's slave, who steals Euclio's pot of gold and exchanges it for his freedom. It is to be noted, the importance of freedom for him is even higher than the value of wealth that he could have acquired through the stolen pot of gold. The seduction of young girls by boys is a very common issue of society even today. Lyconides, seducing Phaedria under the influence of alcohol is a proper representation of this issue. Phaedria is being impregnated by Lyconides under the intonication, which aptly reflects the crimes that take place with the young girls in the society. Hence, we can say that the play carries out a very proper reflection of the society.

Along with the reflection of the society, we can also see the portrayal of the basic elements of life, like lust for wealth and physical lust. Euclio's greed for the pot of gold depicts a prefect resemblance of people who are overshadowed with the lust for wealth over morals. The overwhelming theme of the play is to point out the danger rooted in owning wealth and the way it can destroy us.

Again, the portrayal of physical lust is depicted through the character of Lyconides, who seduces the young Phaedria that leaves her pregnant with his child. Lust is a basic element of society, as humans are very commonly shadowed with lust. Plautus depicts the aspect perfectly through his amazing skills in the play.

Women's role and position in society are also reflected within the play in a fantastic way. There are three women characters in the play Staphyla, Eunomia, and Phaedria. Staphyla is the housekeeper of Euclio as well as a nurse and confidante to Phaedria. It  is Staphyla who looks after the pregnant Phaedria since Euclio, obsessed with his pot of gold has no time for anything else in life. Even though she contributes So much for them, she suffers a lot at the hands Euclio, as he suspects her of revealing about the pot of gold to others Again, the role of Phaedra is a significant one. Even though she remains unseen throughout the play, her character represents those young girls who are often a victim to the prey of lust. She undergoes her sad fate due to the mistake committed by young Lyconides, which is a common scenario of the society. Eunomia is the third woman character who is the sister of Megadorus and mother of Lyconides. Eunomia shows her concern for her brother as the not married yet and suggests a rich middle-aged woman for him. Megadorus reveals his wish to marry Phaedra in front of Eunomia and she happily agrees to her brother's wish. Again when Lyconide reveals the truth about him impregnating Phaedria, she dissuades her brother Megadorus from his decision to marry Phaedria, since her son now wants to marry her. We can observe the duality of women's character through Eunomia. Her concern for both her brother and son represents her caring nature. Hence, we can observe that Plautus has represented different aspects of women's role in society; most about the disgrace and wrong borne by them on the hands of the patriarchy.

Plautus strictly follows the three dramatic unities place, time, and action in the play. The whole action takes place in one place -the street where Euclio and Megadorus live, the time span for the action of the play is only a couple of hours on the same day. Thus, the entire action, place, and time run along together without violating each other.

The Pot of Gold is constructed with an abundance use of humor and irony. Euclio's character is represented as a miserly old man and his traits are highlighted with the help of humor. For ex-Euclio is described as a "crippled cobbler" guarding his treasure when he orders Staphyla to tightly close the bolts of the door so that nothing is stolen, Staphyla comments that the house is so empty that nothing but only "cobwebs" can be stolen. Again, when Strobilus describes Euclio's miserliness, he says that when the old man goes to sleep, he ties a balloon on his mouth, so as to not lose this wind while sleeping such use of humor can be observed throughout the entire play and it keeps the reader entertained to the story. 

The structure of the plot is compact and well-knit. Two plots are intertwined in the play where the story of Euclio is the major plot and the story of Lyconides is the subplot. The main plot is based on the folly of human greed and avarice; whereas the sub-plot is based on the folly of physical lust and a subsequent attempt of making things right. The story of the play is based on the central character of Euclio and all the minor characters surrounding him. It is noticeable that all other characters have an important role to play in uplifting the character of Euclio. Even the steward and the slaves have their own share of importance in the play. No single incident takes place in the play which is not connected to the main plot. The play begins with a prologue, following the rule of Greek classical literature. 

     The play ends with a very beautiful and effective moral. At the climax, Euclio gives up his greed for the pot of gold, as he realizes that the pot of gold is the sole reason for his sleepless nights, and accepts that he turned aggressive and suspicious of everybody due to the same. He accepts Lyconides as his son-in-law and gifts the pot of gold to his daughter for her marriage. Euclio sighs in relief because now he can sleep peacefully without the need of waking up every night to check on the treasure. It once again proves that the greed and lust for wealth results in nothing but stress, and loss of personal satisfaction. we are left with this important moral, where Plautus succeeds as a playwright in bringing an effect in the society.