What poet to bring back from the dead; The Frogs, Aristophanes

Why you might read The Frogs?

This is a quirky little play about what makes good tragic poetry. It has little to do with frogs and just has them as a chorus during the ferry ride to Hades. It is a very accessible play and an easy read. It does help to know a little about the Greek gods and poets but it is by no means necessary. The play does a good job at introducing its characters for those without this background. 

Synopsis of The Frogs

Dionysis is missing Euripides and decides to go to the underworld and retrieve him. With his servant, he goes to Hercules to find out the way to Hades. Hercules comically lists ways for him to kill himself. He does eventually tell Dionysis and reminds him he will have to pay the ferryman.

On coming to the ferry, the ferryman will not let his servant in the boat. The servant is forced to walk around. While on the boat Dionysis must listen to the chorus of frogs. This is where the name of the play comes from but it is not an important part of the story.

When he arrives in Hades Dionysis finds that there is a squabble. Pluto lets the best of a given area sit at his table. The seat for tragedy is being disputed between Euripides and Aeschylus.

Dionysis gets involved as the judge and a competition ensues. Dionysis has them each weigh various quotes from the works on a pair of scales. Aeschylus is declared victor every time. Dionysis decides he doesn't want Euripides back but rather Aeschylus. Aeschylus give his seat at Plutos table to Sophocles as his second. Aeschylus and Dionysis leave Hades.

Reflections on The Frogs

Dionysis and good of wine and women is an odd choice for the protagonist. This is especially true when he chooses the more serious and weighty of the two poets of tragedy. His servant only exists to provide a foil to Dionysis in the first half of the play. He is also the butt of most of the jokes. He is then almost completely forgotten in the second.

The idea of weighing pieces of poetry is very interesting. Even more interesting is how Dionysis judges. He bases it on not the quality of the verse but the weight of the subjects. Maybe that would seem more normal to the ancient audience but to me, that seems a little backwards. The better verse should be the one better constructed. 

Dionysis choosing to take Aeschylus back to the land of the living is a good resolution of his quest. If he had taken Euripides it would seem out of place to have judged Aeschylus the winner and then leave him in Hades.

What others have to say about The Frogs

"The underlying theme of "The Frogs" is essentially "old ways good, new ways bad", and that Athens should turn back to men of known integrity who were brought up in the style of noble and wealthy families, a common refrain in Aristophanes' plays." From Classical Literature

"As can be obvious from the parabasis and the exodos, The Frogs is also a very political comedy. Aristophanes couldn’t have known that Athens was about to lose the Peloponnesian War against Sparta" From Greek Mythology

Comparisons with other texts

Like most of Aristophanes' works, The Frogs is full of jokes and absurdities. Like The Acharnians it is about the politics surrounding the Peloponnesian War. The Frogs comes much later in the conflict. His audience though is no less war-weary with The Acharnians.

Thucydides covers the context of the war in his piece titled The Peloponnesian War. He deals with it in terms of history. Facts, Figures and Battles. Unlike Aristophanes who deals with the internal politics of Athens.

Conclusion

The Frogs has very little to do with frogs. It is instead a comedy about what is good poetry. Dionysis is especially after a poet to inspire fortitude in the Athenians. In the process, it takes us to Hades along the path Hercules took.  It both takes the idea of tragic poetry quite seriously and yet makes fun of its writers at any chance it gets. In all a good little comedy with a satisfying ending.

Have you read The Frogs? If so what did you think of it? 

 

Want to read The Frogs but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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