What do the frogs represent in Aristophanes?

The play represented the last of the playwright’s works written during the turbulent era of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Although he endured prosecution for his continued attacks on the politician Cleon, The Frogs brought Aristophanes public honors for its promotion of Athenian unity.

What is the Greek play The Frogs about?

Frogs, Greek Batrachoi, a literary comedy by Aristophanes, produced in 405 bce. The play tells the story of Dionysus, the god of drama, who is mourning the quality of present-day tragedy in Athens after the death of his recent favourite, Euripides.

When did Aristophanes write frogs?

February 405 BC
Aristophanes, the great comic dramatist of Athens, wrote the Frogs for performance at the Lenaia in late February 405 BC, where it won first prize. The play was written against the backdrop of the final stages of the Peloponnesian War (a long and destructive war between Athens and Sparta).

What are the elements that make Frogs a comedy play?

The Frogs is a comedy mainly due to its use of satire. Satire is a form of comedy used to ridicule elements of society. Aristophanes was considered a master of satire in his day, often ridiculing political, philosophical, and other major figures. The Frogs mainly satirizes Athenian society.

What are the characteristics of old comedy revealed in the Frogs?

Old Comedy was based on a set of formal conventions. However it was less bound by formal rules than tragedy. Its form was composed of varied structural elements. The core elements were: (a) a parodos, or entry of the Chorus; (b) an agon, or contest; and (c)a parabasis, or address by the Chorus to the audience.

What are the messages in the play Frogs?

The underlying theme of “The Frogs” is essentially “old ways good, new ways bad”, and that Athens should turn back to men of known integrity who were brought up in the style of noble and wealthy families, a common refrain in Aristophanes’ plays.

Why are frogs a Comedy?

His Frogs is a remarkable Comedy. His purpose was social reform and in this sense, he was a social reformer. He was a comic poet and not a political propagandist. He was like a teacher and concerned with the well-being of Athens as well as the welfare of her people.

Why are frogs a comedy?

What are the elements that make frogs a comedy play?

What was the first comedy play?

Acharnians
Old Comedy refers to plays written in the 5th century BCE. The earliest surviving complete play is Aristophanes’ Acharnians, first performed in 425 BCE, and citations from surviving fragments of earlier plays can be dated no earlier than c. 450 BCE.