The Birds and Other Plays

Aristophanes, David Barrett, Alan H. Sommerstein , David Barrett

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English

Penguin Classics
30 March 2004

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Plays & playscripts; Penguin Black Classics

Penguin Classics relaunch

The plays in this volume all contain Aristophanes'

trademark bawdy comedy and dazzling verbal agility. In THE BIRDS, two frustrated Athenians join the birds to build the utopian city of 'Much Cuckoo in the Clouds'. THE KNIGHTS is a venomous satire on Cleon, a prominent Athenian demagogue, 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.

By: Aristophanes
Introduction by: David Barrett, Alan H. Sommerstein
Translated by: David Barrett, Alan H. Sommerstein
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 197mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 237g
ISBN: 9780140449518
ISBN 10: 0140449515
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 30 March 2004
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

The Birds and Other PlaysAbout the Author7 Aristophanes in Antiquity9 Aristophanes, Comedian and Poet21 The Knights29 Peace91 The Birds147 The Assemblywoman215 Wealth265 Notes313 Select Bibliography336

Little is known about Aristophanes' life (c. 445BC-c.386BC), but there is a portrait of him in Plato's Symposium. His first comedy was produced when he was 20 and he wrote 40 plays in the course of his life. David Barrett has translated a number of ancient Greek texts for Penguin Classics.