A vibrant verse translation of three key works from one of the most original playwrights in the entire Western tradition Combines historical accuracy with a sensitive attempt to capture the rich dramatic and literary qualities of Aristophanic comedy Features comprehensive introductions to each play, as well as detailed explanatory notes Includes an appendix containing information and selected fragments from the lost plays of Aristophanes. ristophanes is the only surviving representative of Greek Old Comedy, an exuberant form of festival drama which flourished in Athens during the fifth century BC. One of the most original playwrights in the entire Western tradition, his comedies are remarkable for their brilliant combination of fantasy and satire, their constantly inventive manipulation of language, and their use of absurd characters and plots to expose his society's institutions and values to the bracing challenge of laughter.

This vibrant collection of verse translations of Aristophanes' works combines historical accuracy with a sensitive attempt to capture the rich dramatic and literary qualities of Aristophanic comedy. The volume presents Clouds, with its famous caricature of the philosopher Socrates; Women at the Thesmophoria (or Thesmophoriazusae), a work which mixes elaborate parody of tragedy with a great deal of transvestite burlesque; and Frogs, in which the dead tragedians Aeschylus and Euripides engage in a vituperative contest of 'literary criticism' of each other's plays. Featuring expansive introductions to each play and detailed explanatory notes, the volume also includes an illuminating appendix, which provides information and selected fragments from the lost plays of Aristophanes.

Table of Contents: Preface Introduction Aristophanes' Career in Context Old Comedy and Dionysiac Festivity The Dynamics of Fantasy Formality and Performance Satire and Seriousness Translating Aristophanes Stage Directions Aristophanes and Posterity Note on the Translation Select Bibliography Chronology Clouds Women at the Thesmophoria Frogs Appendix: The Lost Plays of Aristophanes Notes Index of Names