"The Clouds" by Aristophanes - Relevant in Today's World
"The Clouds" by Aristophanes, is a play centrally concerned
with education. Aristophanes employs satire to illustrate his
conservative beliefs. It is intended to show readers that in the
tendency to philosophical subtleties lies the neglection of the
real needs of the Athenians. According to Aristophanes,
philosophical speculation only acts to shake the established
foundations of accepted religion, gods, and ideals of morality.
Specifically, as it was even discused in "The Apology,"
Aristophanes believed that philosophical attitudes held by the
Sophists enabled those who held them to convince others of wrong
or weaker beliefs simply by sounding as if they knew what they
were talking about -- when in reality they didn't. It seems as
if Aristophanes would approve of an education based souly around
the reading of clasiscal literature and some physical excersize.
I believe the fact that Athenian youth were starting to ask
questions of the elders in the city really bothered
Aristophanes. I think he really thought it to be dangerous and
detrimental to society; as can be seen through the line
Strepsiades yells towards the end, "revenge for the injured gods
(II.i.1506)." I believe Aristophanes to be part of the group
that accused Socrates of not accepting the recognized gods of
state, which many believed to be a part of the corruption of
Athenian youth. While I don't agree with that accusation --
primarily because of Socrates recognition of Apollo through the
Oracle at Delphi -- I can see some Aristophanes' points of
contention with what he thought the Sophists and other
philsophers stood for.
The Clouds, who form the chorus in Aristophanes' play, are a
physical representation of the "philosophical speculation" that
Aristophanes speaks of. According to Aristophanes, these
speculations do not come from a grounded sense of experience,
but rather float about without definite framework and
actualization, simply in the realm of possibility. I found it
interesting that Aristophanes chose to illustrate this metaphor
between the clouds and the Sophists' beliefs into a literal
representation. He furthered this illustration by choosing to
bring Socrates on his first appearance floating in on a basket
down to the stage.
Another aspect I find interesting in Aristoph...
... middle of paper ...
...
Essentially, I think that "The Clouds," can be a piece of
classical Greek literature applicable to our own modern world.
If we do not take the time to examine practices and beliefs,
they have the potential to lose the weight and value that they
were once based or formed on. While Aristophanes aimed at
entertaining his audience through comedic satire, he also had a
very serious warning -- that ended up holding true -- for the
people of Athens. A nation too proud and too sure in it's own
beliefs and politics, has proven through history, never to work.
Sadly, while I believe the United States is a great nation with
moral goals and hopes, I believe we exemplify some of the
problems that the Athenian state suffered from, and eventually
died from. We often times refuse to examine our beliefs. We
automatically view them as "the best," or "the most moral." This
can be seen in our current struggle. If we constantly
leave our borders to try and convince others around the world that
American knows best, we're doomed for failure. As exemplified in
"The Clouds," we then become the ones throwing stones at people
we don't agree with -- a fate almost worse than death.
Throughout literature authors have written to express a message to their intended audience. This is no exception for the plays, Oedipus Rex and Darker Face of the Earth, written by Sophocles and Rita Dove, respectively. The similarities in plot, characters, and motifs are not the sole concurrencies between both plays; the overall message to the audiences in both plays is one in the same, one cannot escape their fate. Sophocles and Dove both illuminate this message through their use of the chorus. While Sophocles uses a single chorus of Theban elders, Dove illustrates the grimness of fate through several minor characters: the chorus, the prayers and the players, the rebels, and three female slaves. Dove’s usage of Phebe, Diana, and Psyche further accentuate the battle between free will and fate, as well as the role of women, a concept absent in Sophocles’ play.
There are many meanings inside stories; “Gregory” by Panos Ioannides is a heart-wrenching short story that follows the protagonist through the execution of his friend. E.M. Forster explains a want to keep friendships strong even at the expense of one’s relation to one’s country. The main character in “Gregory”' has multiple thoughts showing a tie to what Foster explained, as well as the internal fight that happens when one has two forces pulling at one. The Narrator wants to follow his gut and skirt tragedy, but in the end he wants to save himself from his superiors.
B. Separated from her husband in their prime years, and hardened from the frauds of men, Penelope, unlike her son, does not welcome Odysseus back with open arms. She refuses to acknowledge him as her Lord until she tests his knowledge of their secret sign. Uncertain whether he is true, she tries him by ordering to her maid to make up a bed for him and move it back to the bedchamber Odysseus had built with his own hands, therefore stating that she had moved their pact and pledge, even though it was mortally impossible. At this, Odysseus, stung and outraged at his wife for moving his handicraft and their secret sign, describes their special bed, an old trunk of an olive tree as a pillar for the building plot, a stump he carved and used as their bedpost, inlaid them all with silver, gold and ivory, and the stretched bed in between, which was a pliant web of oxide thong dyed crimson. Penelope runs to him, throwing her arms around his neck, kisses him, and immediately apologizes for her mistrust and suspicion, and promises that her heart is his. Through this, she rejoices her husband’s return, and that she no longer had to arm herself from suitors who seek to replace her husband, whom she faithfully waited for. She was finally reunited with her husband, and could love again.
The debate between Unjust and Just Speech in Aristophanes’ Clouds draws the reader’s attention to the theme of natural pleasure versus lawful justice. The debate begins with the two Speeches representing
Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman) was one of the great Pan-Hellenic heroes of Greek mythology. Famous for his courage, intelligence and leadership he was most recognized through his resourcefulness and oratory skills. Throughout classical literature and through many authors Odysseus’ characteristics have changed as much as the stories that surround him. The epic and tragedy I will focus on in particular is The Odyssey by Homer and Hecuba by Euripides. The defining characteristics of Odysseus ranges widely as is shown in Homer’s The Odyssey and Euripides’s Hecuba. The figure of Odysseus in homers The Odyssey is the antithesis of the Odysseus in Euripides Hecuba due to their historical contexts and respective audiences.
Aside from all the prodigious number of Greek tragedies in history, stands a collection of Greek comedies which serve as humorous relief from the powerful overtone of the tragedy. These comedies were meant to ease the severity and seriousness sometimes associated with the Greek society. The ideas portrayed in the comedies, compared to the tragedies, were ridiculously far-fetched; however, although abnormal, these views are certainly worthy of attention. Throughout his comedy, The Clouds, Aristophanes, along with his frequent use of toilet humor, ridicules aspects of Greek culture when he destroys tradition by denouncing the importance of the gods' influence on the actions of mortals, and he unknowingly parallels Greek society with today's. Aristophanes also defiantly misrepresents an icon like Socrates as comical, atheistic, and consumed by ideas of self interest, which is contradictory to the Socrates seen in Plato's Apology or Phaedo.
Oedipus the King is a great epic, written by Sophocles that discusses Oedipus’ journey to find his own identity. Most importantly, this epic challenges even the noblest of human beings by portraying a theme between personal convictions versus the force of fate. Throughout his journey, Oedipus encounters these challenges through several oracles, in which he has a difficult time interpreting and accepting. Nevertheless, King Oedipus, being a man with great curiosity and determination, seeks for these answers and makes an attempt to alter his own fate. Consequently, Oedipus fails, and is met with the horrific events that he was so determined to escape from.
Starting in book 2 from 376d and on into book 3 of The Republic, Socrates and Adeimantus discuss the type of education the young guardians, the future rulers and protectors of the city should receive. They feel that the young men should be strong, quick, courageous and educated. They agree that they should receive a physical education for their bodies and an education in music and poetry for their souls. Unlike physical training, an education in music and poetry can begin at a very young age, at the age when most young people are very impressionable. Socrates feels that “the young are incapable of judging what is allegory and what is not, and the opinions they form at that age tend to be ineradicable and unchangeable.”(378d) Socrates feels that it is of the highest importance that the first stories young men should hear are improving stories, ones which contribute to the betterment of the individual’s mind and soul. The stories should give an idea of how they should live their lives and the types of values they should acquire. They should communicate values like fairness in their dealing with others and respect for the family and the community. The unifying principle behind Socrates’ censorship is this: anything that would contribute to the corruption of the minds of young children or that would give them false values, whether it be true or false, should be censored.
A hero has many admirable traits that are attributed to them. Today, one would describe a hero as someone with courage, bravery and a clear conscience to invoke good deeds. In mythology, heroes are also present and hold the same qualities as our modern heroes. Heroes just like Odysseus who after spending ten years trying to return home from the Trojan War, wants nothing more than to get back to his wife, son and reclaim his position as king of Ithaca.. But hardships that appear during his voyage demonstrate his courage and intelligence. Using these traits he is able to reach his ultimate goal and become the hero he is meant to be. But to become the hero, Odysseus needs to fulfill the six steps that were set by Joseph Campbell, who illustrated these steps in his text Hero with a Thousand Faces. These steps include: 1. Leaving home; 2. Deciding upon a quest; 3. Encountering dragons; 4. All-out fights; 5. a wound (left upon the hero from his/her encounter with a dragon.; 6. Wisdom which the hero learns that informs his or her life thereafter, or a wisdom won that can be shared with the hero’s people. Odysseus almost illustrates the true definition of a hero and, goes on a hero’s journey to attempt just that. Odysseus must face many challenges and dangers to reach his objective. Through the way he eradicates them, it is evident that he has successfully completed parts of the hero’s journey but fails to complete the last step.
In “Oedipus the King,” an infant’s fate is determined that he will kill his father and marry his mother. To prevent this heartache his parents order a servant to kill the infant. The servant takes pity on the infant and gives him to a fellow shepherd, and the shepherd gives him to a king and queen to raise as their own. The young prince learns of the prophecy and flees from his interim parents because he is afraid that he is going to succeed. The young prince eventually accomplishes his prophecy without even knowing he is doing it. He murders his father and marries his mother unknowingly. While it may seem to some that Oedipus was destined to carry out his fate, it is also true that Oedipus’ personality led him to his fate.
In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, it is greatly apparent just within the first few exchanges between Ismene and Antigone that there are various social issues surrounding the women in ancient Greece. The play raises many gender and socially related issues especially when looking at the contextual background of the playwright and the representation of the women within the play. When the characters of the first scene begin their analog, it is important to note what they are actually saying about each other and what their knowledge of their own social status is. The audience is first introduced to Antigone who we later learn is the antagonist of the play as she rebels against the protagonist, Creon. Her sister, Ismene, is the second character the audience is introduced to, hears of Antigone's plan to bury their brother's body in the first scene. Ismene’s actions and words give the reader the hint that her sister’s behavior is not usual, "so fiery" and "so desperate" are the words used to describe Antigone's frame of mind. At this very early point in the play the reader discovers that Antigone is determined to carry out her mission to bury her beloved brother. However, she is in no position that gives her the rights as a woman, sister, or even future queen to make her own decisions and rebel. Instead, her decision to bury her brother demonstrates her loyalty to her family, the gods, and to all women. Her motivation for those decisions will end up driving her far more than that of what the laws set by Creon have implemented. She shows no fear over disobeying the king and later says about the punishment of death "I will lie with the one I love and loved by him"(Sophocles, 2). Throughout the play the reader can see the viewpoint of an obedient woman, a rebellious woman, and the social norms required for both of them.
In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, the main character uses rhetoric to effectively persuade her audiences to sympathize with her. In the play, Antigone’s brother, Polyneices, dies a traitor to the Theban people. The king, Creon, decrees that no one is to bury the traitor despite the necessity of burial for proper passing into the afterlife. Believing that Creon’s decree is unjust, Antigone buries her brother. When she is brought to the king, Antigone uses this speech in defense of her actions. In the speech, she uses allusion, diction, and particular sentence structure to increase the effectiveness of her argument.
The play was considered comic by the ancient Athenians because of its rhyming lyricism, its song and dance, its bawdy puns, but most of all because the notion and methods of female empowerment conceived in the play were perfectly ridiculous. Yet, as is the case in a number of Aristophanes’ plays, he has presented an intricate vision of genuine human crisis. In true, comic form Aristophanes superficially resolves the play’s conflicts celebrating the absurdity of dramatic communication. It is these loose threads that are most rife with tragedy for modern reader. By exploring an ancient perspective on female domesticity, male political and military power, rape, and efforts to maintain the integrity of the female body, we can liberate our modern dialogue.
In Euripides’ play The Bacchae, the ideals that were the foundation of Greek culture were called into question. Until early 400B.C.E. Athens was a society founded upon rational thinking, individuals acting for the good of the populace, and the “ideal” society. This is what scholars commonly refer to as the Hellenic age of Greek culture. As Athens is besieged by Sparta, however, the citizens find themselves questioning the ideals that they had previously lived their lives by. Euripides’ play The Bacchae shows the underlying shift in ideology of the Greek people from Hellenic (or classical), to Hellenistic; the god character Dionysus will be the example that points to the shifting Greek ideology.
The poem “My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing like the Sun” by William Shakespeare is about the love towards an imperfect woman. He explains that although his mistress is imperfect, he finds his love special and rare. To clear things up mistress in this poem holds a completely different meaning than that of the modern-day term we are used to. The word mistress now refers to a woman having a sexual relationship outside of marriage, especially with a married man however, in Shakespeare's time, it meant a woman who rules others or has control. The reader can focus on some important aspects of this poem such as imagery, and tone to better understand the poem.