In ancient Greece, the ideal of comedy was mainly formed from the idea of "this couldn't happen." This form was used in the play, "Lysistrata", to illustrate this point. Such ideas were the sexual content, women as leaders, and a female controlled society.
As mentioned above, the ancient Greeks see the impossible as comedic and as a result, the abovementioned elements of the play to be comedic too, because in that time those ideas were unimaginable. As a comparison, here and now, we may not consider these elements as comedic anymore, as we've seen them in real life so the notion of impossibility is no longer applicable. Nevertheless, let us look into the three aforementioned comedic elements of the play Lysistrata, for a better appreciation …show more content…
It has been an entertaining element of many plays through the years and even today, in the 21st century, it is still used in comedies, though its effectiveness could be of a lesser degree now. This element is shown all throughout "Lysistrata", through the sex strike. It is most appealing in the following scenes of the play: The point when the women of Athens disagreed with Lysistrata's plea that they refuse sex with the men to end the war, the scene where Myrrhine seduced her husband Kinesias, yet left him with a painful erection to suffer, the scene where all the men bore painstaking erections throughout Greece, and the scene where Lysistrata appeared on stage with Peace, a naked beauty, as she discussed the treaty with the men who hastily agreed with each parties conditions to be with their …show more content…
The Athens of Lysistrata was one of the most progressive cities of that era. As a democracy, it left political decision-making and government management up to the people. However, the definition of "the people" was a bit limited. Women were not included. And that's exactly what Lysistrata and her fellow women are trying to change. Lysistrata is saying that the men who make the decisions are working from a perspective that's too limited, because they refuse to listen to their wives' sensible advice. She also argues that Athenian politics has simply gotten too corrupt, and is in need of a serious clean-up. For the Greeks, a city ruled by women is not simply funny but it could even be ridiculous. However, the women in ancient Greece is very unlikely to make the steps they made in the play to encourage
As mentioned above, the ancient Greeks see the impossible as comedic and as a result, the abovementioned elements of the play to be comedic too, because in that time those ideas were unimaginable. As a comparison, here and now, we may not consider these elements as comedic anymore, as we've seen them in real life so the notion of impossibility is no longer applicable. Nevertheless, let us look into the three aforementioned comedic elements of the play Lysistrata, for a better appreciation …show more content…
It has been an entertaining element of many plays through the years and even today, in the 21st century, it is still used in comedies, though its effectiveness could be of a lesser degree now. This element is shown all throughout "Lysistrata", through the sex strike. It is most appealing in the following scenes of the play: The point when the women of Athens disagreed with Lysistrata's plea that they refuse sex with the men to end the war, the scene where Myrrhine seduced her husband Kinesias, yet left him with a painful erection to suffer, the scene where all the men bore painstaking erections throughout Greece, and the scene where Lysistrata appeared on stage with Peace, a naked beauty, as she discussed the treaty with the men who hastily agreed with each parties conditions to be with their …show more content…
The Athens of Lysistrata was one of the most progressive cities of that era. As a democracy, it left political decision-making and government management up to the people. However, the definition of "the people" was a bit limited. Women were not included. And that's exactly what Lysistrata and her fellow women are trying to change. Lysistrata is saying that the men who make the decisions are working from a perspective that's too limited, because they refuse to listen to their wives' sensible advice. She also argues that Athenian politics has simply gotten too corrupt, and is in need of a serious clean-up. For the Greeks, a city ruled by women is not simply funny but it could even be ridiculous. However, the women in ancient Greece is very unlikely to make the steps they made in the play to encourage