Frogs

Question 1

Halliwell - comedy first

Answer 1

Frogs is ‘first and foremost a comedy.’

Question 2

Dover - Aeschylean victory

Answer 2

Aeschylus’ victory is Aristophanes’ final message to the audience: to revive the Aeschylean values in order to revive Athens’ fortunes.

Question 3

Hesk - Discursive communities

Answer 3

The audience is made up of ‘different discursive communities’ who will find different humour funny - comments on the metratheatricality of the opening porter scene where Aristophanes criticises comic porter secnes in a comic porter scene, not all members of the audience would understand humour like this.

Question 4

Nietzche, literary criticism

Answer 4

The satire in Frogs elevates it to serious literary criticism.

Question 5

Bowie - Eleusinian mysteries

Answer 5

The comic katabasis is analogous to the Eleusinian mysteries, the play is far from escapist for those in the audience with a religious sensibility.

Question 6

Halliwell - political opinion

Answer 6

The advice given in the play by the chorus is a ‘realistic political opinion’ for the Athenians.