ABSTRACT
Miles Gloriosus was written by Titus Maccius Plautus, who was born in Sarsina, a town in Umbria, around 254 B.C. and died in 184 B.C. One important thing that Plautus leaves out in his summary is that a servant of the braggart soldier, Sceledrus, supposedly searching for a stray monkey, has seen Philocomasium kissing her lover, Pleusicles, in the neighbor's house. In the first few lines of the play, Plautus establishes Pyrgopolinices' character. Miles Gloriosus, though written more than two thousand years ago, still "works" as a comedy and is extremely funny. The play, like many comedies, revolves around the polarities of illusion and reality or trust and deception, and, as is often the case in comedies, deals with the ways in which lovers who are separated and have obstacles to overcome do so and find a way to get together.
