ARISTOPHANES

ARISTOPHANES (446 B.C. – 386 B.C.)

 Greatest comic writer of his day (only his

works remain from all other writers of Old
Comedy)
 Only eleven of his forty plays have remained
 When he began writing his comedies, democracy
was crumbling in Greece.
 The plays criticized war profiteers; his comedies
centered on grief and apprehension.
 Famous works of Aristophanes are: The Knights,
The Clouds, The Wasps, The Frogs
 He often subtly criticized the political and cultural
figures.
 SATIRE – the use of humor or exaggeration or
ridicule to expose and criticize people’s vices or
negative activities, particularly in politics.

 PARODY – imitation of the style of a particular

writer with deliberate exaggeration for comic
effect.