Plautus doctus

Meta-theatricality in the Pseudolus

Abstract

This paper explores the metatheatrical structure of Plautus’ Pseudolus. It argues that the title character not only belongs to the tradition of comic slave types but also serves as an allegorical figure of the playwright. Through self-referential gestures and theatrical conventions, the play reflects on its own dramaturgical mechanics and on the nature of authorial power in Roman comedy. The study suggests that Pseudolus’s metapoetic dimension is inseparable from its construction of the performative space in which both comic form and audience expectations are negotiated. The comic slave thus emerges not merely as a character, but as a dramatic mask of creative agency.