Three plays from Aristophanes, the master of Ancient Greek comedy
Marrying deft social commentary to a rich, earthy comedy, the three
comedies collected in Aristophanes' The Frogs and Other Plays offers a
unique insight into one of the most turbulent periods in Ancient Greek
history. 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 Wasps, in which an old-fashioned father and
his loose-living son come to blows and end up in court. And in Women at
the Thesmophoria, the famous Greek tragedian Euripides, accused of
misogyny, persuades a relative to infiltrate an all-women festival to
find out whether revenge is being plotted against him.
Shomit Dutta's introduction discusses Aristophanes' life, the cultural
context of his work and conventions of Greek comedy. This updated
version of David Barrett's translation also includes extensive notes and
a preface for each play.
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