Four Plays by Aristophanes: The Birds; The Clouds; The Frogs; Lysistrata (Meridian Classics)

Book Description

This volume features four celebrated masterpieces: Lysistrata, The Frogs, The Assembly-Women, and Plutus (Wealth), all in new translations by the distinguished poet and translator Paul Roche.

Customer Reviews:

Inexpensive and very okay.......2006-09-27

Roche's Signet Classic "Four Plays by Aristophanes" provides good contemporary translations of Lysistrata, The Frogs, A Parliament of Women, and Plutus. On the negative side, the renderings are not terrifically inspired. The paper is too pulpy for a "classic," but that's a drawback of most (though not all) inexpensive classics nowadays. My printing of Roche, however, is not thick or blotchy, though I've noticed the Signet Classics sometimes tend in that direction.

Gone are the days, evidently, when the pages of a Signet Classic always looked crisp and stayed bright for decades. I've got some from the '60s that still look good.

Roche's introduction and notes to these four plays are brief but solid.

Great Ancient Greek Political Parodies.......2005-01-06

I should first point out that I read a different edition of this book, and the one that I had had only two plays - The Birds and The Frogs. I will review only these two. Aristophanes has a "no holds barred" type of approach to controversial political decisions and actions. The Birds is a comedy that ridicules the disastrous Greek expedition to Sicily in 413 B.C. Arisotophanes is a wonderful writer and he uses similes and parables throughout his writing. Besides being comedic, The Birds pays tribute to man's eternal desire to achieve the freedom and beauty associated with birds.
The Frogs is a parody on the stupidy and culpability of persons afflicted with their own preoccupation with themselves. We see these types of "puffed up" personalities all around even in this day and age. So like the frogs we hear in our ponds and marshes chirping the same old songs. This is acually as timely as it was when it was written sometime around 400 B.C. Hard to believe.

Get on the right page.......2004-08-25

The reviews attached here seem to refer to another collection by another translator--the Arrowsmith edition, apparently. Instead of "Clouds" we have two lesser plays--"Parliament of Women" and "Wealth." The translation's lively, the notes very helpful, the glossary mentioned in other reviews is absent here. All in all, a very useful introduction to Aristophanes, and endless fun.

ancient Greek comedy at its best.......2004-04-05

Aristophanes was to theatre what Socrates was to religion and politics--the funny, irreverent "bad boy." My favorite of these 4 plays has to be "The Clouds", which is in fact a parody mocking and making fun of Socrates (spelled or mis-spelled Sokrates). Very funny dialogue.

David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

Great Student Edition.......2002-10-31

This book is physically constructed like a student edition -- i.e., cheaply. The paper is cheap and thick, the ink thick and sometimes blotchy, with that great newspaper smell. If you're looking for a lovely edition of Aristophanes to sit on the mantle with your nice books, this is not.

Book Description

Writing at the time of political and social crisis in Athens Aristophanes was an eloquent yet bawdy challenger to the demagogue and the sophist. The Achanians is a plea for peace set against the background of the long war with Sparta. In Lysistrata a band of women tap into the awesome power of sex in order to end a war. The darker comedy of The Clouds satirizes Athenian philosophers, Socrates in particular, and reflects the uncertainties of a generation in which all traditional religious and ethical beliefs were being challenged.

Customer Reviews:

the father of western comedy..........2004-11-14

Brilliantly written and translated (quite a feat considering the many word-plays in ancient Greek...), this book (or any of Arsitophanes' plays for that matter) is a 'must read' for the humourist and the classisist combined. When the King of Syracuse asked Plato what he should read to understand how the average Athenian thought, he was instructed to read Aristophanes. You will be fascinated to see just how 'modern' the humour is, or, as the introduction explains, how 'ancient' our modern comedy is.

'The Clouds', inlcuded in this volume, is the imfamous play that Plato criticised Aristophanes over after the death of Socrates: he claimed that the parody of his teacher helped those who secured Socrates' death. I'd like to think Socrates did not concur. It has been reported that he bowed in good humour after witnessing the performance. Also, 'Lysistrata' is often used as a proto-feminist story - although it is much more interesting than that. Ancient Greeks have, as one of their chief virtues and downfalls a drive to be self examining and critical. It gives todays social relativists plenty of ammunition. Those that use it as an anti-war/peace-at-any-cost story, when it is actually against civil war, have not studied Aristophanes enough, or are prepared to ignore what doesn't work for their cause...

Translation with wit but without true character of original.......1998-09-30

Alan Sommerstein went to some length to translate the puns and plays on words (as further explained in the endnotes), which results in a very active play, and, for the careful reader, wit in nearly every line. He also uses the endnotes to explain further the Greek personalities mentioned in the plays, which adds to the understanding; my recommendation would be to read the play straight, then read the associated endnotes, then reread the play in question.

This translation captures the humor of the original, which ranges from low-brow slapstick to witty one-liners to political asides--a union of vaudeville, Oscar Wilde, and Mark Russell. However, what Sommerstein utterly misses is the form of ancient Greek comedy. The lyric choruses are rendered in choppy iambic lines, with many of them set to tunes from Gilbert & Sullivan. Aristophanes meant to use vulgarity in the acting, not in the lines of the Chorus.

Two stars for verbal wit, two stars for completeness of endnotes, and one star for my love of "Lysistrata", minus one star for excessive use of campy tunes.

Book Description

This rollicking new translation of Aristophanes' comic masterpiece is rendered in blank verse for dialogue and in lyric meters and free verse for the songs. Appended commentary essays--on ancient warfare, classical Greek rationalism, Athenian women, Athenian democracy and the Athenian festivals--offer lively and informative discussions not only of Aristophanes, but of the broader fifth-century social, political, and cultural context as well.

Customer Reviews:

Highly readable, but(t).....?.......2007-09-17

Neither the creaky and surprisingly prudish anonymous translation published by Dover Thrift Editions nor the profanity-laden, anachronistic but highly readable translation by Sarah Ruden is the perfect classroom edition of Lysistrata. Between the two, I guess I'll start teaching Ruden's version, especially since the footnotes and other apparatus are genuinely scholarly and indicate where liberties are taken.

But is the language Ruden chooses really the modern equivalent of how Aristophanes would have sounded to 5th-Century BCE ears? Visually, the play is inescapably bawdy, but is Aristophanes' dialog really so much the equivalent of today's stand-up comedians who "work blue" and use strings of low-minded profanity instead of clever innuendo to be amusing?

Personally, I prefer the Dudley Fitts translation, which seems to strike just the right balance between high-tone literal and "urban" street-talk. Unfortunately, the Fitts translation seems to be unavailable in an inexpensive, single-title edition. Any chance Dover might get the rights to it and retire their stilted anonymous translation?

[...].

Overly clever translation that should be avoided........2007-09-12

A Classics professor writing a translation of a play? This is obviously a translation meant to be read and not performed, and thus has lost the purpose of Lysistrata, and best to be avoided at all costs. Professor Parker's tortured retelling of this very funny play sucks the humor out in favor of clever witticisms and offensive stereotypes. He has forgotten that this was a play written during the Peloponnesian Wars, and was a direct response to that conflict. If he had not, then why the references to Hamlet and other plays? Are we supposed to follow the story or applaud Parker's precocious re-telling? If you read this play as part of a class and use the anthology "The Living Theatre", do yourself a favor and get another translation.

Pick your translation carefully.......2006-09-16

Having read several different translations of Lysistrata, I can report that the one you select may make all the difference in your opinion of this early comedy. Roche's translation is very vulgar but has good footnotes: get ready for cockney Spartans, however. Jack Lindsay's translation, done in 1925 (included in the Bantam edition of Aristophanes) seems to be overly literary in comparison to the original but lacks notes. It reads well, though sounds a little old-fashioned. The bawdry is present but made less direct; in this one the Spartan dialect is Scottish.

I found Parker's translation to be the least satisfactory. The "hillbilly" dialect he gives the Spartans is painfully overdone,not to mention inaccurate, and the speeches are awkward and pedestrian. An excellent edition overall is Alan H. Sommerstein's in the Penguin Classic "Aristophanes: Lysistrata and Other Plays." The introduction and notes are extremely informative, and the translation itself strikes the right note to represent Aristophanes' style in English. (Once again, though, the Spartans are Scots.)

But perhaps the best choice is Sarah Ruden's 2003 edition. Her dialogue is unusually funny without straying too far from the original. Added value comes from her four very readable essays on Greek democracy, warfare, women, and comedy. It's also printed on quality paper and comes with a great cover!

Hilarious and Still Relevant.......2005-12-31

Last semester, I took a college course on comedic drama. Lysistrata was one of the first plays the class read, and it, the oldest play we read, provided the room of twenty-somethings with our biggest belly-laugh of the semester. That, it seems, attests to the endurance of this theatrical masterpiece.

The plot is outstanding. The country is involved in a needless war that is tearing everyone apart. In response, Lysistrata leads the women in a conspiracy to stop the war. They will lock themselves in the temple and withhold sex from their men until the war stops. The outcome is increasingly hilarious (and bawdy), and profound.

And of course, the play wouldn't still be around if it were simply funny. There are layers of meaning here and, in true comedic fashion, an appeal to a better way of life. The play builds to an appeal to a more spirit-filled, more peaceful, and loving, way of living. It's no wonder that this play is still relevant 2500 years after it was written.

Such an awful book.......2005-07-23

I had to read this book in english class this year and it was absolutely horrid. The jokes weren't funny and the story was just stupid. Also, if you actually like the book, don't buy this edition because it falls apart. The book is about the battle of the sexes and it's stupid, pointless and boring. On top of it, you'll be really confused at times because of the old english. It's not a fun read more like a frustrating read. This is definitely one of my least favorite books of all time.

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Lysistrata
Aristophanes
Manufacturer: Digireads.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1420926438

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Lysistrata begat Sex and the City

Four Comedies (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)
Aristophanes
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0472061526

Book Description

Contains Lysistrata, The Congresswomen, The Acharnians, and The Frogs

Customer Reviews:

Lysistrata begat Sex and the City.......2005-12-01

I looked at two of Aristophanes plays in this book: Lysistrata and The Frogs. In reading these plays I made notes for each time I laughed or smiled. I even took notes when I didn't laugh but thought that maybe someone else would. Rather than try to find a theory of humor, I simply recorded what it was that I thought made the line or scene funny. The list is somewhat shocking about the nature of humor, but the list is funny in itself.

Some of the things that I found funny in the Lysistrata were: filing down a male body part, leather toys, filthy slang, slow talking yokel foreigners, taking pride in being called trampy, adultery, dumping a bucket of nasty on a stiff bureaucrat, threats of abuse, using lies and excuses to seduce, using a child as a tool to coax a wife into bed, desperate impatience and insensitivity, an abusive relationship happy in its misery, the mockery of a famous Greek homosexual, a logical argument against staying sober, perpetual arousal, ignoring the moral of the story while ogling a woman, and, finest of all, a drunken pile of people.

Another moment in the Lysistrata that caught my attention was the misinterpretation of a line that reminded me of the movie Airplane:
Lysistrata: "We want to get laid."
Koryphaios of Women: "By Zeus!"
Lysistrata: "No, no. Not by him."

Co-Pilot: "Surely you can't be serious."
Leslie Nielson: "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."

In reading The Frogs, I made another list, a much different list but perhaps a worse indictment of mankind's sense of humor than the previous list because it covers much more than sex. The short list I made begins with a dookie, or in other words stifling a number two while carrying a heavy load. It continues with laziness, whining, mocking a the same Greek homosexual with a joke, advice on suicide, bartering with a corpse, lampooning gods and heroes, excuses and lies, name calling, disrespecting superiors, imitations of nature, the inherent comedy of discomfort and injury, mocking the audience, making light of death and hell, false bravery followed up with fear and insecurity, mutation--in particular a leg made of number two--and handicaps, snobbery and pompous behavior, strange asides with interjections about a pair of perkies in the audience, undermining public figures by questioning their legitimacy, defamation of character, taking a large item--such as a tombstone--in an uncomfortable place, a disgruntled Greek slave, mutilation, dismemberment, disguise and surprise, misplacement of a sponge over an exposed "area", a frightened "member", role reversals and ensuing reversals of fortune, dancing girls, a subordinate having fun as a superior and then being disciplined, insults, kissing and dooking simultaneously, gluttony, mistaken identity, threats and violent imagery, torture, burial, a superior appealing to a subordinate using flattery, reusing an argument against the original speaker, promising things that don't exist, treachery and betrayal, suppression of pain to appear fine-and-dandy, a deity praying to another deity, portraying a serious figure as an idiotic bird, criticizing government and institutions, misery loving company among slaves, making fun of the venerable dead, a fight between corpses, bums, execution, and a reference to a toot in the face.

The least funny part of The Frogs is the contest between the poets, although if I could see and hear the actual play I might feel differently. My laughs turned into dying smirks as the humor became highbrow, and as the argument between Aeschylus and Euripides went on I yearned for an interjection of a bar pianist or something childish.

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Entertaining Classic with a Modern Translation
an acient view
A complete book

Lysistrata (Clarendon Paperbacks)
Aristophanes
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0198144962

Book Description

In addition to its many topical references to social life, religion, and politics in classical Athens, the Lysistrata is one of our best sources for the life of women in antiquity: unlike epic, tragedy, and oratory, Attic comedy draws its characters and plots from everyday life and provides a unique glimpse into the situation of everyday Athenians. Henderson's standard edition of Aristophanes' play provides much new evidence for those working on anthropological and sociological aspects of Athens, as well as those working in traditional philological fields. The text is brought fully up to date with the advances made in Aristophanic scholarship over the past sixty years. In particular, it is the first to report all the manuscripts, papyri, and testimonial sources of the text, offering a new account of its history and a detailed review of the transmission of the Aristophanic corpus as a whole. Henderson's text and apparatus criticus is supplemented by a full Introduction giving details of the background to the play, its content, staging, philological interest, the textual transmission, and by a detailed Commentary.

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining Classic with a Modern Translation.......2002-12-14

In his comic play, Lysistrata, Aristophanes provides a fantasy account of the Peloponnesian War between the Spartans and Athenians. The women of Greece, disheartened by all of the bloodshed and damage caused by the war attempt to take the matter into their own hands. Led by Lysistrata, the women of Sparta and Athens band together and institute a sex-strike which will continue until the men agree to a cease-fire. Henderson is very liberal with his translation, which stands in contrast to some of the pruder translations from the Victorian era and even ones from this century. The play is filled with graphic sexual innuendos, which were repressed in other editions, but are fully presented here to retain the original comic power of the play. The vernacular used is modern and uninhibited, and is not recommended for young audiences (University level minimum).

an acient view.......2000-04-12

this books gives you the sense on how women wee treated and how they made themselves stand out and been heard using special tatics to stop the war between the athenians and the trojans. Although they say that women are the weaker sex the men are weaker with out sex.

A complete book.......1999-05-17

I think this is the best presentation of a Greek text, because there is a good introduction, a lot of help behind in the book, but no translation. So this is the ideal Lysistrata for students.

Aristophanes: Birds. Lysistrata. Women at the Thesmophoria. (Loeb Classical Library No. 179)

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THE modern Aristophanes translation

Aristophanes: Birds. Lysistrata. Women at the Thesmophoria. (Loeb Classical Library No. 179)
Aristophanes , and Jeffrey Henderson
Manufacturer: Loeb Classical Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0674995872

Book Description

Aristophanes (ca. 446-386 BCE), one of the world's greatest comic dramatists, has been admired since antiquity for his iridescent wit and beguiling fantasy, exuberant language, and brilliant satire of the social, intellectual, and political life of Athens at its height. In this third volume of a new Loeb Classical Library edition of Aristophanes, Jeffrey Henderson presents a freshly edited Greek text and a lively, unexpurgated translation of three plays with full explanatory notes.

In Birds Aristophanes turns from the pointed political satire characteristic of earlier plays to a fantasy that soars literally into the air in search of a carefree world. Here the enterprising protagonists create a utopian counter-Athens, called Cloudcuckooland, ruled by birds. Lysistrata blends boisterous comedy and an earnest call for peace. Lysistrata, our first comic heroine, organizes a panhellenic conjugal strike of young wives until their husbands end the war between Athens and Sparta. Athenian women again take center stage in Women at the Thesmophoria, this time to punish Euripides for portraying them as wicked. Parody of Euripides' plots enlivens this witty confrontation of the sexes.

Customer Reviews:

THE modern Aristophanes translation.......2002-04-30

Professor Henderson's new translations of Aristophanes are uncensored, readable, fresh, and ultimately extremely enjoyable. He captures how Aristophanes probably would write if he lived today, with frank yet poetic language that brings these comedic gems to light. I have heard Professor Henderson's translation of Women at the Thesmophoria read aloud; the only thing funnier--and raunchier--I have heard since then has been a reading of his translation of Assemblywomen. Somehow Aristophanes manages to entertain his audience with the lowest of humor while invoking serious intellectual themes. (Imagine if people like Adam Sandler had brains. . .)
N.B. This is not your grandmother's Greek theater! Aristophanes, particularly as rendered by Professor Henderson, will make you rethink your notion of the Classics as dull, snooty, Stoic dust-gatherers in the far corner of the libary.
Enjoy!

Aristophanes Four Comedies (Lysistrata, the Frogs, the Birds, and Ladies' Day)

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Aristophanes Four Comedies (Lysistrata, the Frogs, the Birds, and Ladies' Day)

Manufacturer: A Harvest Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000FC76B4

Aristophanes : Acharnians, Lysistrata, Clouds (Focus Classical Library)

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Two comedies by Aristophanes in Greek and English
The earliest comedy of Aristophanes calling for peace

Aristophanes : Acharnians, Lysistrata, Clouds (Focus Classical Library)
Aristophanes
Manufacturer: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0941051587

Book Description

English translations. This inexpensive compilation by noted scholar and translator Jeffrey Henderson collects three of Aristophanes' most popular plays: Acharnians, Clouds, and Lysistrata. Complete with introductions and notes, this single volume collection is sure to be a valuable addition to any classroom or collections.

Each of these plays is available from Focus in a single play edition, edited by Jeffrey Henderson .

Customer Reviews:

Two comedies by Aristophanes in Greek and English.......2002-05-10

The Loeb Classical Library features the original Greek texts that remain for both of these comedies by Aristophanes and is obviously of great benefit to those who actually read Greek and are interested in playing with the translation in the hopes of arriving at a better understanding of these plays, their author and the time in which they were performed. The "Acharnians" is one of the earliest extant plays of Aristophanes, the winner of first prize at the festival when it was produced in 425 B.C. Dicaeopolis, a farmer tired of a war he considers to be stupid, decides to make an individual peace with the Spartans. However, before he can celebrate his private treaty, which allows him to trade for goods lacked by those in Athens, he is attacked by a chorus of Acharnian charcoal burners who support the war. The centerpiece of the comedy is Dicaeopolis's speech arguing the causes of the war are pretty stupid. This seriocomic speech, which is a parody of "Telephus" by Euripides, wins over half the chorus. Of course the other half immediately attacks them in a violent agon. The general Lamachus is called in to help, but Dicaeopolis destroys him with cutting arguments as well, and the chorus is united at the end to delivery Aristophanes's parabasis. Meanwhile, Discaeopolis has a drinking contest to attend, while Lamachus is sent back to the war. Pacificism and the folly of war are two recurring themes in the comedies of Aristophanes and both are explicit in the "Acharnians." It is also a good example of the standard format of a Greek comedy, at least as represented by the works of Aristophanes, including the giant party at the end.

The Knights," produced in 424 B.C., is clearly an all-out attack on Cleon, the leader of Athens after the death of Pericles. As related by Thucydides, earlier that year Cleon had induced the Spartans to propose peace. Consequently, Aristophanes opens the comedy with two slaves of the crotchety old Demos ("the people of Athens") dressed up to resemble the generals Demosthenes and Nicias. The two slaves complain about how everyone is picking on Paphlagon, a leather seller who is the favorite of Demos and clearly intended to be Cleon. The oracles tell that Paphlagon is going to be replaced by a sausage seller named Agoracritus. "The Knights" is a second-tier comedy by Aristophanes because it is devoted entirely to making fun of Cleon. Consequently, Aristophanes makes his point early on and by the time Agoracritus the sausage seller beats Cleon at this own game, the comic dramatist is beating a dead horse all the way into the ground. This comedy always struck me as being like a SNL skit that lasts the entire show. In the end Demos, rejuvenated by being stewed in a plot by Agoracritus, takes control and declares he will abolish all innovations and restore the old traditions.

The earliest comedy of Aristophanes calling for peace.......2002-04-30

The "Acharnians" is one of the earliest extant plays of Aristophanes, the winner of first prize at the festival when it was produced in 425 B.C. Dicaeopolis, a farmer tired of a war he considers to be stupid, decides to make an individual peace with the Spartans. However, before he can celebrate his private treaty, which allows him to trade for goods lacked by those in Athens, he is attacked by a chorus of Acharnian charcoal burners who support the war. The centerpiece of the comedy is Dicaeopolis's speech arguing the causes of the war are pretty stupid. This seriocomic speech, which is a parody of "Telephus" by Euripides, wins over half the chorus. Of course the other half immediately attacks them in a violent agon. The general Lamachus is called in to help, but Dicaeopolis destroys him with cutting arguments as well, and the chorus is united at the end to delivery Aristophanes's parabasis. Meanwhile, Discaeopolis has a drinking contest to attend, while Lamachus is sent back to the war. Pacificism and the folly of war are two recurring themes in the comedies of Aristophanes and both are explicit in the "Acharnians." It is also a good example of the standard format of a Greek comedy, at least as represented by the works of Aristophanes, including the giant party at the end.

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Lysistrata (Oberon Classics)
Aristophanes
Manufacturer: Oberon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1840026456

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