Greek playwright Aristophanes spins wonderful stories combining politics, satire, and classic Greek gods in this collection of «Lysistrata and Other Plays.» «Lysistrata» focuses on the women of Greece whose husbands leave for the Peloponnesian War. The women do not care about the war as much as they care about missing their husbands; Lysistrata also insists that men rarely listen to women's reasoning and exclude their opinions on matters of ...
Along with Sophocles and Euripides, Aristophanes is considered one of the three great Greek playwrights. Only eleven of his nearly forty plays survive in their entirety to this day. «The Frogs» was produced the year after the death of Euripides, and laments the decay of Greek tragedy which Aristophanes attributed to that writer. It is an admirable example of the brilliance of his style, and of that mingling of wit and poetry with rollicking humo ...
Euripides, along was Sophocles and Aeschylus, is responsible for the great rise of Greek tragedy. It was in the 5th Century BC, during the height of Greece's cultural bloom, that Euripides lived and worked. Of his roughly ninety-two plays, only seventeen tragedies survive. Both ridiculed and lauded during his life, Euripides now stands as an innovator of the Greek drama. His play «Alcestis» was awarded second place upon its debut in 438 at ...
Euripides (480 BC-406 BC) is revered as one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, and produced the largest body of extant work by any ancient playwright. These three provided the canon of Greek tragedy and thereby lay the foundation of Western theatre. Euripides' works are characterized by their moral ambiguity, plots of intrigue, and a separate character (usually a deity) who introduces the ...
"The Comedy of Errors" is the story of two identical twins named Antipholus who are separated following a shipwreck 25 years earlier. Antipholus of Ephesus grows up in Ephesus with his mother, while Antipholus of Syracuse grows up in Syracuse with his father. Despite a ban on travel between the two cities, their father, Egeon, travels from Syracuse to Ephesus to try and find his long lost son and wife. ...
"Much Ado About Nothing" is the story of Leonato, an Italian nobleman, his daughter, Hero, and his niece, Beatrice. Following a war Leonato welcomes into his house Don Pedro, his good friend; fellow soldiers of Don Pedro, Claudio and Benedick; as well as Don Pedro's illegitimate brother, Don John. Quickly amorous relations develop between Claudio and Hero and later between Benedick and Beatrice. As wedding plans are being made for Clau ...
The third play of Shakespeare's 'First Tetralogy,' this «Part III» is widely regarded as the best of the three works on Henry VI. The Bard's skill in producing scenes of moving drama is readily apparent, for Queen Margaret journeys to France in search of military aid after King Henry brokers a deal with his enemy Richard, Duke of York, for physical protection. Many bloody and heart-rending battles take place in this play as t ...
William Shakespeare's «Romeo and Juliet» is considered to be one of the greatest tragic love stories of all time. Romeo who is a member of the house of Montague falls in love with Juliet who is a member of the house of Capulet. The Montagues and the Capulets have been engaged in a feud for many years and as such the love between Romeo and Juliet is forbidden. Written near the end of the 16th century, «Romeo and Juliet,» which is one of Shak ...
William Shakespeare's «Measure for Measure» takes place in the Austrian city of Vienna, which is ruled by Lord Angelo. Lord Angelo believes that there is too much debauchery in the city and seeks to more strictly enforce laws against certain sexual activities. The story centers on Claudio who has impregnated his fiancee Juliet outside the bonds of marriage. Despite their plans to marry Lord Angelo wishes to make an example of Claudio by sen ...
