Five comedies from Ancient Greece that freely blend satire and
slapstick
Offering a window into the world of ordinary Athenians, Aristophanes'
The Birds and Other Plays is a timeless set of comedies, combining
witty satire and raucous slapstick to wonderful effect. The plays in
this volume all contain Aristophanes' trademark bawdy comedy and
dazzling verbal agility. In The Birds, two cunning Athenians persuade
the birds to build the utopian city of 'Much Cuckoo in the Clouds' in
the sky, blockading the Olympian gods and installing themselves as new
deities. The Knights is a venomous satire on Cleon, a prominent
Athenian demagogue, who vies with a humble sausage-seller for the
approval of the people; while The Assembly-Women deals with the battle
of the sexes as the women of Athens infiltrate the all-male Assembly in
disguise. The lengthy conflict with Sparta is the subject of Peace,
inspired by the hope of a settlement in 421 BC, and Wealth reflects on
the economic catastrophe that hit Athens after the war.
These lively translations by David Barrett and Alan H. Sommerstein
capture the full humour of the plays. The introduction examines
Aristophanes' life and times, and the comedy and poetry of his works,
and this edition also includes an introductory note for each play.
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up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
