Plautus, << PLAW tuhs >> (254?-184 B.C.), was an important Roman writer of comedy. His plays are versions of Greek New Comedy, which emphasized young men in love with slave girls, mistaken identities, cunning servants, and deceived masters. Plautus added earthy Italian comic elements and his own boisterous wit. Subtle techniques of plot construction and characterization did not concern him as much as producing laughter. He was a master of dialogue, writing a lively stream of puns, love talk, and abuse.
Plautus wrote many plays, of which 21 have survived. Amphitruo is a mythological story about the god Jupiter fathering Hercules with a human man’s wife. In Menaechmi, two long-separated brothers find each other after great confusion. In Casina, father and son are rivals for the same girl.
Titus Maccius Plautus was born in Sarsina, Italy. He apparently worked as a stagehand before turning to playwriting.
