\u003cp\u003eThe comic playscripts by Plautus\u0026mdash;the earliest Latin texts we have\u0026mdash;made it through the ancient world to reach ours because the moves and verbal jousting found in them have always made people laugh. Plautine comedies span a wide range of idioms, extending from saucy adventures in the sex trade with Father as the fall-guy who foots all bills, to the trouncing of bigmouth trooper by Ms. Hot Stuff; from the fairytale wishes come true of faraway foundlings fished up on a surprise romantic shore, to the caricature gospel that re-stages the myth of the birth of the hero, in true panto style, gods and all.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cbr/\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough there is no such creature as a typical Plautus play, this cannily chosen set of excerpts\u0026mdash;ranging from the best- to least-known plays\u0026mdash;gives a good sense of how a whole script runs, from opening hush, through brisk cameos and spectacular showstoppers, to final bow. John Henderson's energy, wit, and contagious affection for Plautus' snappy Latin (which he calls \"Plautin\"Â) take the reader along on a whirlwind, laugh-out-loud tour. His combination of commentary, interpretive remarks, and attention to staging and metatheatrics make this edition a perfect introduction to Plautus, and an incentive for further reading.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cbr/\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSpecial Features\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eIntroduction that is as lively as it is informative\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e616 lines of unadapted Latin text from eleven Plautus plays: \u003ci\u003eAsinaria\u003c/i\u003e 746â809, \u003ci\u003eAmphitruo\u003c/i\u003e 361â462, \u003ci\u003eCaptiui\u003c/i\u003e 1029â36, \u003ci\u003eCasina\u003c/i\u003e 780â854 and 1012â18, \u003ci\u003eCistellaria\u003c/i\u003e 203â29, \u003ci\u003eCurculio\u003c/i\u003e 462â86, \u003ci\u003eMenaechmi\u003c/i\u003e 77â109 and 351â69, \u003ci\u003ePoenulus\u003c/i\u003e 1â45 and 541â66, \u003ci\u003ePseudolus\u003c/i\u003e 1â2 and 394â414, \u003ci\u003eRudens\u003c/i\u003e 938â1044, and \u003ci\u003eTruculentus\u003c/i\u003e 482â548\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNotes at the back\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMap and five photos\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBibliography and further reading for each play\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAppendix on meter\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGuide to pronunciation of proper names\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOnline Latin text, marked for reading aloud \u003ca href=\"/Assets/Bolchazy/extras/plautusreaderweb.pdf\"\u003e(download pdf)\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComplete vocabulary\u003c/ul\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/p\u003e
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