write the discussion 3

Aristophanes’ Lysistrata Discussion

Both of your responses together should total at least 300 words, and write the reference in the end.

Book: Volume A of the Norton Anthology of World Literature

1. Briefly (in at least 150 words) comment on the themes of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata that you found most interesting. Some questions to consider: how seriously do you think Aristophanes meant for the audience to regard Lysistrata’s political proposal, if at all? Do you think Aristophanes was even trying to be political? Was he supporting greater freedom and political influence for women, or was he making fun of them? What about this play, written nearly 2500 years ago, seems especially relevant today?

2. Lysistrata uses – in the ancient Greek – very suggestive and colloquial language that is difficult to translate, engaging as it does in the language of the dirty joke and the crude innuendo. Pick a selection of the text from Lysistrata that you are curious about in the translation and post it here by typing the lines (at least a few) and indicating where (by line numbers) in the text the passage may be found. Alternatively, you could respond to a post by typing out the corresponding lines from the other edition of the Norton and/or commenting on the difference between the translations. Your response to this prompt (including a quotation, if you provide one) should be at least 150 words.