Clouds [Paperback]

Aristophanes (Author), M. W. Humphreys (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2004

1892. Aristophanes was a Greek comic playwright. A brilliant satirist, he used the freedom of Old Comedy to ridicule public figures, institutions, and even the gods. In Clouds, the plot of the comedy, like most of those of Aristophanes, is very simple. A man belonging to the once sound and uncorrupted core of the people, a countryman, who has suffered material and moral ruin through the evils common to the times, though not yet himself attacked by the poison of the new culture, is led by adverse circumstances to embrace it. He has been wealthy, and could have enjoyed his property in peace and quiet, but weakness and want of character have involved him in a series of misfortunes. External influence, perhaps also the desire to raise himself above his rank, has induced him to marry a noble, but mistrained girl of a proud family. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A work of unusual excellence and an indispensable tool for all who are interested in understanding Aristophanes."--Hermathena

"A splendid book, easily the best edition of a play of Aristohanes yet to appear in this country."--Classical Review

"At last we have a major edition and a splendid commentart remarkable both for its learning and its conciseness."--American Journal of Philology

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, Greek --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417906154
• ISBN-13: 978-1417906154
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,969,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, December 5, 2010

By 

Felicia Gregg - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Aristophanes : Clouds (Translated With Notes and Introduction) (Focus Classical Library) (Paperback)

This book was difficult to read. It was filled with mechanical errors. words were spelled wrong, the grammar was off, and several parts of the book were switched.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aristophanes attacks Socrates the sophist as a Sophist, May 12, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Aristophanes : Clouds (Translated With Notes and Introduction) (Focus Classical Library) (Paperback)

The legend is that when Aristophanes' comedy "The Clouds" was first performed in Athens in 423 B.C., his target, Socrates, stood throughout the performance so that everyone in the audience was aware that he was there and hearing what was said of him. The portrait of Socrates clearly satirical and most critics consider it to be inaccurate. But Aristophanes is making fun of Athens' renowned "Think-tank" the "Phrontisterion," the school where the rich young men of Athens were taught the fine art of rhetoric. Instead of anything lofty the comic poet suggests the primary purpose of such an education is to be clever and out-reason greedy creditors. This is an especially good translation of the play, which includes insightful notes and essays on both Old Comedy and the Theater of Dionysus that helps readers understand the conventions of staged comedy at the time of Aristophanes.

In this comedy Socrates is consulted by an old rogue, Strepsiades (sometimes translated as "Twisterson"), who is upset with the mountain of debts his playboy son Phidippides, who loves fast horses and fast living. Phidippides agrees to go to Socrates' school of logic where he can learn to make a wrong argument sound right. After graduation is able to use the system of "unjust logic" to outwit his father and kick him out of the family home. The Chorus of Clouds comments on the proceedings and in the end the Phrontisterion is burned to the ground by Strepsiades.

The flaw of the play is Aristophanes is trying to satirize the Sophists, who were popularizing a new philosophy that denied the possibility of ever reaching objective truth, he picked the wrong target. The Sophists were mostly teachers who were not native to Athens, such as Isocartes and Gorgias. "Sophist" basically meant teacher, so while Socrates was a "sophist" he was not a "Sophist." Twenty-four years later, when Socrates was condemned to death for "corrupting the youth of Athens," the only accuser he said he could name was a certain "comic poet." For contemporary audiences who are untutored in the traditions of classical Greek philosophy it is easy to see Socrates as the prototype for the absent-minded professor, but historically that is, of course, far from the truth. Ironically, even today, Socrates is still one of the few "sophists" that a contemporary audience would recognize by name if not by reputation.

The version of "The Clouds" that has passed down to us is not the original version, which was defeated by Cratinus' "Wine Flask" at a comedy competition during the Great Dionysia celebrations. We know this is a revised version because the Chorus complains about Aristophanes finishing third in that competition. However, critics assume it is essentially the same play, albeit a more polished version. Once you forgive Aristophanes for his unfair characterization of Socrates, "The Clouds" is a great comedy employing all of his standard tricks of the trade from fantasy and ribaldry to funny songs and obscene words.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Like Greek Stuff? Read this anyway--you might like it!, December 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Clouds (Clarendon Paperbacks) (Paperback)

I'm in a humanities program at the University of Vermont, and this book was like watching "Roseanne" after a marathon of "The McGlocklin Group" (or however one spells that). It's not humoruous in the way that many fine Shakespere funny--Aristoph. actually made me laugh out loud! Read this when you're in the mood for something witty, but not too pretentious.