Aristophanes, the only playwright whose comedic
plays are the only left surviving from the Greek period to this day. His
play 'The Frogs' written
405BC and presented at the Lenaia Summer Festival where it won first prize. Since then this play is not often performed
in modern day, being overlooked by the classic Tragedies of the genre. Yet, he was one of the most clever of al the
Greek playwrights. Incorporating
philosophers, including Euripides, Sophocles and Aeschylus – not to mention
Dionysus himself, he created the Old Comedies which encompass topics that the
other great playwrights did (the Peloponnesian War, Family relationships, sex
and death) he wrote in a comedic style that was more for the educated and
intelligent than the general public. Although he also wrote with an astonishing ability for comedy (now called Old Comedy) that was adopted into a Vaudevillian/Absurdist style of comedy that is still used today. Take for instance the first few lines of the play:
XANTHIAS: Shall I crack any of those old jokes, master,
At which the audience never fail to laugh?
Fight shy of that: I'm sick of that already.
Only be careful not to shift your pole,
And-
That if none ease me, I must ease myself?
DIONYSUS: For mercy's sake, not till I'm going to vomit.
I believe that this showed a great forbearance to how we now perceive the comedy stylings of a duo: Abbot and Costello, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Laurel and Hardy and even Walter Mattau and Jack Lemon.
Aristophanes' play ‘The Birds’ was turned into a
popular Opera, yet ‘The Frogs’ is much lesser known despite the list of
characters he uses to unravel the processes of travelling to the underword to
bring back to Earth one of the great dramatists of the age – Euripides.
The basis of the play is simple – Dionysus travels
to the underworld with his servant to bring back Euripides from the dead. Yet he does not bet on the journey being so difficult
and fraught with decisions.
We are introduced to Dionysis as a theatre-goer. He bemoans to the audience the sever lack of
good dramatists in the world. As the God
of Wine, Theatre and Merry Making, he feels that this reflects upon him
personally. He resolves to go with his servant
Xanthias and return with Euripides, the Prince of Dramatists.
With a lion-skin in tow, he disguises himself as
Heracles (the Gatekeeper of Olympus) to herald his strength and ward against
the possible dangers of the journey to the underworld.
Ferried across to the Underword by the boatman
Charon, we are introduced to a huge croaking chorus of frogs – who seem to be
the vocal link between the Earth and the Underworld. In the meantime, servant Xanthias was denied
a boat trip, he has had to walk across the lake to the entrance to the
Underworld.
Taking the opportunity to get even with Heracles
for misdeeds committed in the underworld, Dionysus forces his servant to change
clothing/costumes with him (which alludes to a great banter between the two as
a modern musical Vaudevillian style comedy).
The change is barely complete when a handmaiden of Proserpine to bid Xanthias
(thinking he is Heracles) to a great banquet.
Dionysus insists that he changes back into the lion skin – that is until
two housekeepers of Pluto (the God of the Underworld – in classical Greek mythology)
attack Dionysus thinking that he is Heracles and wanting revenge for the
damages he had done on his last visit to the Underworld. In a rush to prove his
identity the chorus of frogs help to substantiate his true form.
The news soon spreads throughout the Underword
that Dionysus has arrived to herald one of the great dramatists back to
Earth. There is a great disturbance and
we hear quarreling from Aeschylus and Euripides, each trying to prove his
worth to gain the position of the King of Tragedy and to take the high honour
alongside Pluto for the great banquet.
It is soon decided that as both their plays were written and performed for
the Dionysus Festival, that he should make the decision and decide who is to be
the King of Tragedy.
A trial is set where Aeschylus and Euripides
both need to prove their worth by presenting the first lines and verses from their
plays. Dionysus is torn between the two
and originally takes the side of Euripides as he was the original intent of his
visit to the Underworld. Finally
Aeschylus is declared with winner, yet it has also change the mind of Dionysus
as to whom he wants to bring back to Earth.
Dionysus and Xanthias leave the Underworld, bringing back Aeschylus to
write on Earth again, thus leaving Sophocles in the place of honour of King of
Tragedy.
Like most classical Greek plays, the chorus is used as an intermediary between the main actors and the audience, both in representing what happens off stage to the audience and sometimes to the main actors, re-delivering imperative information to the audience and becoming the main conductors of movement on stage. This play is no different, however there is a comedic prescense, not only used by the vaudevillian style comedy between Dionysus and Xanthias, but also with the information that the frogs deliver to the audience - always beginning with the requisite croaks and brekekex's of a typical frog call.
Brekekekex, ko-ax, ko-ax,
Brekekekex, ko-ax, ko-ax!
We children of the fountain and the lake
Let us wake
Our symphony of clear-voiced song.
The song we used to love in the Marshland up above,
In praise of Dionysus to produce,
Of Nysaean Dionysus, son of Zeus,
When the revel-tipsy throng, all crapulous and gay,
Brekekekex, ko-ax, ko-ax.
It's nice to enjoy the lighter side of Classical Antiquity!
Next Week: 'The Room' by Harold Pinter
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