People in contemporary times associate humor with the actors and actresses whom they see on television and in movies; a person rarely comments on the wit and humorousness of the writer of a production. Jennifer Aniston, for example, is described as being very funny, whereas Scott Silveri, one of the writers of Friends, is almost never talked about. Using this example, Aristophanes, the illustrious Greek comedic playwright, would be the modern-day Silveri. The type of comedy Aristophanes wrote during his life would also be celebrated in this day as well. Stand up comedians, as well as television programs such as Saturday Night Live, all display the slapstick action, vulgar language, and extremely satirical kind of comedy Aristophanes employed. His style and subject matter, popular in ancient times, is still very prevalent and popular to this day.

The word comedy, in medieval times, was applied to non-dramatic literary works with happy endings. Compared to tragedies, comedies have simpler styles and regard human beings more realistically; they strive to bring about smiles and laughter, aiming primarily to amuse (Holman). The comedies of ancient Greece are divided into three classifications: Old, Middle, and New. Old Comedy, which is associated with Aristophanes, was seen during the fifth and early fourth centuries; it is characterized by exuberant political and social satire along with literary parody. The language of Old Comedy would often mimic the “high-blown” style of tragedy for comic effect (De Marre). The typical structures of an Old Comedy were less formal than tragedy, with plots not derived from traditional myth, but were from the creation of the comic poet. Old Comedy was also more lighthearted and less dignified than tragedy, as slapstick action, sexual jokes, and almost every other device of humor known to man could be found (Dunkle). At its best, Old Comedy resembled Saturday Night Live in having mass appeal and displaying coarse humor, with the underlying satirical intent never far from the surface (Turney). Middle Comedy, which prevailed in Athens from about 400 B.C. to about 320 B.C., represented a transition from Old Comedy to New Comedy. It differed from Old Comedy in essentially three ways: “it had no chorus, public characters were not personated on the stage, and the objects of its ridicule were general rather than personal, literary rather than political” (“Middle Comedy”). New Comedy describes Greek drama from about 320 B.C to the mid-3rd century B.C. It is also marked by the absence of the chorus, expect for a “rare non-essential” chorus. This form of comedy offered a mildly satiric view of contemporary Athens, focusing on family matters such as complications in love relationships (“New Comedy”). New Comedy has had the greatest influence on modern comedy. As Roger Dunkle asserts, “The universality of human relationships, which formed the subject matter of New Comedy, allowed this form of comedy to translate well, first to Rome, and then to Renaissance Italy and England and eventually to our stages, movies, and television screens.”

The background of an author, including the time and place where he was born, greatly influences his work, and Aristophanes is no exception. Born in Aegina, Greece, around 446 B.C, he was an illustrious Greek poet and playwright. Many call him the greatest comedian of his age. Aristophanes is believed to have grown up and been educated in Athens, Greece, during a time when the city stood at the pinnacle of its political and cultural power. Athens was the unchallenged master of the sea, the leading commercial power, and the center of Greek literature, philosophy, and the arts. The famed philosophers Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates were also Athenians living during this period (“Aristophanes”). While these men are revered in the study of philosophy, Aristophanes is considered to be the foremost poet of Old Comedy, of which his eleven surviving plays, such as The Birds, The Clouds, and The Frogs, are the only complete examples (Dunkle). He is also believed to have been among the social and intellectual elite of Athens, therefore being sympathetic to the social, moral, and political outlooks of the contemporary upper-class conservatives (Briggs). Aristophanes’s works now are valued primarily for “the exuberance of their wit and fantasy, for the purity and elegance of their language, and for the light they shed on the domestic and political life of Athens in an important era of its history” (Briggs).

During his lifetime, Aristophanes produced forty-four comedies, of which only eleven have survived. The subject matter of the majority of these plays deals with political and social satire, along with literary parody (Dunkle). Three of his major works are Lysistrata, Frogs, and Birds. Lysistrata is named for the comic heroine, Lysistrata. She is an Athenian woman who succeeds in forcing a negotiated peace between the warring states of Athens and Sparta. She is able to persuade the wives of the combatant states to swear an oath that they will not have sexual intercourse with their husbands until a peace is reached. After the husbands become desperate in their situation, a peace agreement is eventually achieved (Briggs). In Frogs, Aristophanes examines the connection between tragedy and reality. Dionysos, patron god of theater, is dissatisfied with the condition of the Art of Tragedy at Athens. He decides to descend to Hades in order to bring back to earth one of the old tragedians – Euripides, he thinks. In Hades, he finds that a contest is under way for the throne of tragedy between Euripides and its incumbent, Aeschylus, who had died fifty years earlier. After a hard-fought contest, Aeschylus is judged the winner and taken back to Athens to restore the civic energy that had made Athens so successful in his own day (“The Frogs”). Birds tells the story of two Athenians, Peisetairos and his friend Euelpides, seeking to escape from the chaos and corruption of Athens. They eventually find themselves among the birds in the countryside. Peisetairos convinces the birds to reclaim their past glory by organizing a city-state, to be called Cloudcuckooland, which he would lead and keep free of the sort of troubles that had spoiled Athens. This city-state is built above the earth, enabling a domination of the middle ground between humans and gods. Aristophanes, in his other plays, continues his theme of political and social satire. This can be seen in Clouds, in his portrayal of Socrates as the head of an outrageous school that fosters ridiculous research and dishonesty (“Aristophanes”). In these plays, the audience, already knowing the plot, would still thoroughly enjoy the show. This is true because of the comic way in which the major and important Athenians were portrayed. It would be humorous to see a play in which extremely well respected persons, such as the philosopher Socrates or the ruler Cleon, are satirized.

As a playwright, Aristophanes was considered resourceful and ingenious in his style, creating effective devices for the expression and exploration of complex ideas. His style is considered graceful at times, extremely satirical, witty, and humorous (Henderson). In all of Aristophanes’ works there was the role of tradition, meaning that he followed a certain traditional structure of how a play should be laid out. This layout consisted of three major elements: the Choral Entry, the Argument, and the Parabasis. The Choral Entry sets the mood for the entire play, while the Argument is basically the conflict of the play. The Parabasis occurs when the chorus makes a direct address to the audience, which was done through their stage characters, speaking as comic actors, or speaking on behalf of Aristophanes himself (Madore). Using these elements, Aristophanes, later in his life, started his own theatre named the Theatre of Aristophanes. Within the theater, there were two basic types of stage illusions. The first consisted of the actor completely assuming the role of the character he was playing. This illusion gave the audience the full effect of the play, as the actor was not just acting, but was actually becoming the character that he was playing. The second was the use of direct addresses to the audience. These were important because they gave the audience a sense of involvement in the play (Pollitt). These illusions helped Aristophanes, in his comedic play Lysistrata, develop an extensive satire of the Peloponnesian War. It contains a variety of themes, including peace and the role and importance of women. In the play, Aristophanes makes heavy use of satire, especially during important meetings and gatherings of the women and men. For example, Lysistrata’s striking plan to end the war is to “refrain from the male altogether” (Aristophanes 4). The answers she receives from her plan show the parody with which Aristophanes shapes his characters. Cleonice, responding to Lysistrata’s plan states, “Anything, anything but that! Bid me go through the fire, if you will,-but to rob us of the sweetest thing in all the world” (Aristopnaes 4). Aristophanes also displays his use of satire when dealing with the men and their discussions about traveling to Sparta. The Magistrate announces to the men that if “we enter the city sober; why, we must be picking a quarrel directly” (Aristophanes 29). The style employed by Aristophanes, although structured and thematic, was overwhelmingly satirical in nature.

The subject matter, themes, and style of Aristophanes’ Old Comedy were extremely popular during his time. Many aspects of his comedy are still enthusiastically enjoyed to this day. As slapstick action and satire are fundamental aspects of comedy, it seems almost certain Aristophanes’ type of comedy will be enjoyed by many future generations as well.