The Balli(o)starium: Plautus, Poenulus 200-2

After an awkward pause in Pseudolus where the title character leaves the stage and the tibicen entertains the audience in his absence, the clever slave suddenly returns in a flurry, delighted by the plan he has concocted. His monologue expresses supreme confidence in his plan and in his own skills at deception: Pseudolus is a besieging commander, preparing to capture and plunder the town of--Ballio. Ballio, everyone's common enemy, is the target of Pseudolus' military exploits, and Pseudolus for the most part maintains the facade he has temporarily adopted. Here, Welsh delineates Plautus' plays. The first performance of Poenulus has been variously dated, on stylistic and historical grounds, to the years immediately following Pseudolus. Since Pseudolus was a spectacular play at a major event, it would have lived in the memory of the audience long after its performance, so Poenulus need not date to late 191 BC for Milphio's hint at Ballio to make sense.