Titus Plautus

Not much is known about the early life of Titus Maccius Plautus. Historians believe he was born in northern Italy in 254 BCE, and most likely got his start in theatre as a stagehand or carpenter, assembling the temporary stages used for theatrical performances in the Roman Republic.

Plautus studied Greek New Comedy, likely the works of Menander, evidenced by the use of domestic plots and characters similar to those of the Greek playwright. The father-son relationships and struggles are a common plot device, as well as the various stock characters like the parasite or the courtesan. His plays, while not politically satirical, offer commentary on Roman society and customs. He frequently used puns, wordplay, slapstick, and metatheatrical devices throughout his works--in some cases, a character directly addresses the audience and reminds them of how they should react to the play.

While only about 20 plays survive intact (with fragments of 31 others), Plautus was prolific and composed roughly 130 plays in his lifetime. His works continue to influence other writers: William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors is heavily based on Plautus' The Menaechmi, and the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum takes its basic plot, characters, and metatheatre from Pseudolus.

Plautus died in 184 BCE, a respected poet and dramatist. His epitaph read:

Since Plautus is dead, Comedy mourns, The stage is deserted; then Laughter, Jest and Wit, And all Melody's countless numbers wept together.