ectly natural manner"; where the poet
may stick at nothing provided the laugh be forthcoming; where all the
apparently absurd conventions of _palliatae_ cease to be absurd, vanish
into thin air and become unamenable to literary criticism, inasmuch as
they are all only part of the laugh-compelling scheme. This is the
_solvent_ that we propose. To establish this, let us proceed to an
examination of the internal mechanism of the plays.

Part II

An Analysis of the Dramatic Values in Plautus

The salient features that characterize the plays of Plautus include both
his consciously employed means of producing his comic effects, and the
peculiarities and abnormalities that evidence his attitude of mind in
writing them. We should make bold to catalogue them as follows:

I. Machinery characteristic of the lower types of modern drama--farce, low
comedy, musical comedy, burlesque shows, vaudeville, and the like.

A. Devices self-evident from the text.
1. Bombast and mock-heroics.
2. Horse-play and slap-sticks.
3. Burlesque, farce and extravagance of situation and dialogue.
a. True burlesque.
b. True farce.
c. Extravagances obviously unnatural and merely for the sake of fun.

B. Devices absurd and inexplicable unless interpreted in a broad
farcical spirit.
1. The running slave.
2. Wilful blindness.
3. Adventitious entrance.

II. Evidences of loose composition which prove a disregard of
technique and hence indicate that entertainment was the sole aim.

A. Solo speeches and passages.
1. Asides and soliloquies.
2. Lengthy monodies, monologues and episodical specialties.
3. Direct address of the audience.

B. Inconsistencies and carelessness of composition.
1. Pointless badinage and padded scenes.
2. Inconsistencies of character and situation.
3. Looseness of dramatic construction.
4. Roman admixture and topical allusions.
5. Jokes on the dramatic machinery.
6. Use of stock plots and characters.

Let us illustrate these points by typical passages and endeavor to insert
such stage-directions as would indicate how the most telling effects could
be produced and hence aid the reader in visualizing the actual
performance.

I. Machinery Characteristic of the Lower Types of Modern Drama

A. _Devices self-evident from the text._

1. Bombast and mock-heroics.

It is a little difficult to sublimate this entirely f