How did Plautus use wordplay, music, and slapstick in his comedies?

Plautus was a master of Roman comedy, known for transforming Greek New Comedy into a lively, distinctly Roman experience through several key techniques:

• Wordplay: Plautus utilized a racy, colloquial Latin language filled with wit, puns, and linguistic play. His style was characterized by a nimble and supple diction that moved away from the polished, refined language later favored by Terence.123
• Music: His plays were highly musical, often resembling mid-20th-century musicals or comic opera. While conversational lines were spoken, other sections were sung or chanted to the accompaniment of reed pipes, known as auloi. He frequently adapted scenes of simple dialogue from his Greek originals into elaborate musical numbers using varied, complex metres.123
• Slapstick: Plautus relied heavily on physical farce, rapid action, and exaggeration. His work featured "upside-down" portrayals of life—such as slaves commanding masters—and relied on intrigue and stock characters to drive the humor. This boisterous, slapstick approach was likely influenced by native Italian burlesque traditions.123