Miles Gloriosus; The Braggart Captain

The oldest surviving example of the "braggart soldier" character type that would influence Western comedy for two millennia, Miles Gloriosus is a howling farce about a stupidly vain Roman captain who believes every word of his own war stories. Young Pleusicles loves Philocomasium, but the swaggering Pyrgopolinices has kidnapped her. Enter Palaestrio, the clever slave who engineers an audacious rescue involving supposed twin sisters, well-timed disguises, a social call from a friend with a monkey, and enough mistaken identities to fuel an entire season of sitcoms. The soldiers in this play never actually go to war. Their battles are verbal, fought in the bedroom and the street with wit as the weapon. The swaggering captain believes his own press so completely that he never sees the trickery unfolding around him. This is Plautus at his most kinetic: a comedy that moves, surprises, and rewards anyone who loves watching a fool thoroughly fooled.