The Frogs, The Poet And The Women & The Wasps - Softcover

Aristophanes

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140441522 ISBN 13: 9780140441529

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2003

Synopsis

The master of ancient Greek drama, Aristophanes combined slapstick humour & cheerful vulgarity with acute political observations. In THE FROGS, Dionysus descends into the Underworld to bring back a poet who can help Athens in its darkest hour, & stages a great debate to help him decide between the traditional wisdom of Aeschylus & the brilliant modernity of Euripides. This clash of generations & values is also the subject of THE WASPS, in which an old-fashioned father and his loose-living son come to blows & end up in court. Meanwhile in THE POET & THE WOMEN, Euripides - who stands accused of misogyny - persuades a relative to infiltrate an all-women festival to find out if revenge is being plotted against him.

About this title

Synopsis:

The master of ancient Greek comic drama, Aristophanes combined slapstick, humour and cheerful vulgarity with acute political observations. In "The Frogs", written during the Peloponnesian War, Dionysus descends to the Underworld to bring back a poet who can help Athens in its darkest hour, and stages a great debate to help him decide between the traditional wisdom of Aeschylus and the brilliant modernity of Euripides. The clash of generations and values is also the object of Aristophanes' satire in "The Wasps", in which an old-fashioned father and his loose-living son come to blows and end up in court. And in "The Poet and the Women", Euripides, accused of misogyny persuades a relative to infiltrate an all-women festival to find out whether revenge is being plotted against him. In his introduction, David Barrett discusses the Athenian dramatic contests in which these plays first appeared, and conventions of Greek comedy - from its poetic language and the role of the Chorus to casting and costumes.

About the Author:

Little is known about Aristophanes' life (c.445BC-c.386BC) but there is a portrait of him in Plato's SYMPOSIUM. He had his first comedy produced when he was about 20, & wrote 40 plays in all. David Barrett translated a number of ancient Greek texts, including Aristophanes' THE BIRDS & OTHER PLAYS.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0140441522
• ISBN 13: 9780140441529
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 224