tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post8813371665855102841..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: The Clouds by Aristophanes - Open up! I'm mad for education!Amateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-52952354885955945432022-06-17T20:20:46.157-05:002022-06-17T20:20:46.157-05:00That is a good point, Arrowsmith's opinion is...That is a good point, Arrowsmith's opinion is unnecessarily strong.<br /><br />Yes, try <i>Lysistrata</i>, and I will argue for the great masterpiece <i>The Birds</i>. And <i>The Frogs</i> is in a special category, but it is not until the fall.<br /><br />Your comments will be missed here. Have a good vacation!Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-706260748456025942022-06-17T10:36:00.354-05:002022-06-17T10:36:00.354-05:00I liked this better than the first two Aristophane...I liked this better than the first two Aristophanes, but still not enough to actually finish it. The Arrowsmith translation did seem to be an improvement over the one I was previously using, and I could see how this could be fun in a live setting, but on the page it just didn't hit me as funny enough (though there were a few good jokes, such as the one Scott mentions about the map). Though I could imagine it working in a performance.<br /><br />Maybe the thing that most amused me was Arrowsmith's insistent belief that Aristophanes' actors had prop phalluses, which seemed to be based on the view that you need props to make mock-masturbation references, a view that I think could be comfortably refuted by a panel of high-school boys.<br /><br />I'll probably try Lysistrata when we get there. I'm heading out on vacation for a few weeks so I'll probably resurface sometime in the next batch of Euripides.dollymixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01613395912383039465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-25072496015430854932022-06-04T18:43:51.260-05:002022-06-04T18:43:51.260-05:00I love that story. How I hope it is true.
The Cl...I love that story. How I hope it is true.<br /><br /><i>The Clouds</i> gives a clear enough answer to the "Why Aristophanes?" question. As I remember it, there are two or three more this good, plus one special case.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-68231176784004190462022-06-04T00:52:56.433-05:002022-06-04T00:52:56.433-05:00According to the introduction of the translation I...According to the introduction of the translation I read (Moses Hadas, 1962), "It is said that when the maskmaker's art was applauded on his double's first appearance, Socrates stood up in his seat to show the likeness." There is no record of how Socrates felt <i>after</i> the play was performed.<br /><br />I liked this one quite a bit. As you say, much tighter in construction than his previous plays. The jokes are a lot better, too (with the exception of the flatulence gags, which I guess he was famous for). Again he talks directly to the audience and asks for the prize, complaining about competitions he's lost. And again there are references to the play as a play ("No, look over there, by the stage door!"). A big toy box for Aristophanes. I think my favorite bit is the gag with the map ("What's that?" "That's Sparta." "Can't you make it any farther away?"). Pretty good stuff.scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.com