Editing Plautus (section)

===Jokes and wordplay===
Plautus' comedies abound in puns and word play, which is an important component of his poetry. One well known instance in the ''Miles Gloriosus'' is Sceledre, ''scelus.'' Some examples stand in the text in order to accentuate and emphasize whatever is being said, and others to elevate the artistry of the language. But a great number are made for jokes, especially [[riddle joke]]s, which feature a "knock knock - who's there?" pattern.  Plautus is especially fond of making up and changing the meaning of words, as [[Shakespeare]] does later.<ref>M. Fontaine, ''Funny Words in Plautine Comedy,'' Oxford, 2010.</ref>