22/2/07 - Classical Literature - Aristophanes: The Frogs (3)

In the Frogs, Dionysus is a stark figure. In 430 BC a play was produced called Dionysalexandros. In it, Dionysus impersonates Paris in order to get Helen. Another play was produced later, Taxiarchs, in which Dionysus is taught to be a sailor by Eupolis. The quest theme was becoming particularly popular in Greek theatre.

In Demes, by Eupolis, great men are brought back from the dead. Aristophanes built upon this idea, and in Frogs, he has Dionysus bring back poets in particular (rather than just great men) from the underworld.

Frogs took place at an emergency point of the war. Athens was about to lose the war that year. Dionysus, in the play, wants to bring back Euripides to entertain Athens at its peak of crisis.

The normal structure for tragedy is to have a prologue, a parodos and then an agon in which the hero comes up against conflict and wins some opponents over. After the agon, there are episodes in which the poet fits in as many jokes as are funny. In Frogs, the episode comes second and the agon comes at the end.

The underworld is ruled by Pluto ('the wealthy one') and Persephone.

The opening speech outlines that the play will be a mixture of both old and new gags (Xanthias: "one of the usual [gags]?").

Plays usually take their names from the hero or the chorus; in this case, it is taken from a non-chorus. Aristophanes may have done this because there were not enough resources for frog costumes and because it plays with the audience's expectations. At the last minute, an alternative chorus may have been substituted, carrying torches which were much easier to obtain and make.

Xanthias ("blondie" - slaves came from northern Europe, descendants of the Celts) is a character known as the 'clever slave'. In new comedy (a hundred years after Frogs), the clever slave became a standard character. Xanthias has been seen as the first clever slave in Greek drama.

Frogs is a play of two halves: there is the initial quest scene with people coming back and forth. Then comes the expository scene, the slave conversation, and the second half is thereafter.

Does Frogs go too far as literary criticism and does this detract from its comic value? It depends on the literary audience; the audience participated in the theatre as it was a national event. Frogs seems to be concerned with what makes good poetry, what works in drama, etc.

Aeschylus tended to start his plays in medas res, while Euripides had a character come onstage and introduce to the audience the setting, characters, circumstances, etc. Euripides introduced female characters into the theatre while Aeschylus showed us the great issues of life. In Frogs, Aeschylus poses the question of the purpose of art directly. The purpose of poetry could be in demonstrating skill, aiding moral improvement or the teaching of the masses. Both poets suggest the latter is the real purpose of poetry. Aeschylus says art should be didactic and moral, while Euripides says it should be truthful. In the end, choosing Aeschylus was most appropriate, politically and morally.