Chioma Mogbo Lysistrata — Formal Essay Assignment “I don’t intentionally go: ‘Ooh, what is provocative,’ and try to do that. I just do stuff, and people go: ‘Ooh, that’s provocative. ‘ Maybe because sometimes I’m super-ignorant – and sometimes they’re super-ignorant. ” This quote by Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam conveys the same reaction that the reader feels as one reads Lysistrata. Lysistrata comes with many sexual innuendos. It also goes particularly beyond innuendo where numerous male characters walk around on stage with visible, giant, and erect peni.
Literary Devices In Lysistrata
Literary Devices are used by writers in order to add depth and complexity to their works. In the play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, there are many instances of literary devices being used in order to convey the author’s message
One example of a literary device used in Lysistrata is personification. This is when an inanimate object is given human characteristics. In the play, the character Lysistrata personifies War when she says “He’s a bearded rascal, full of guile and mischief.” By giving War human characteristics, Lysistrata is able to convey her opinion that War is a deceiving and destructive force.
Another literary device used in Lysistrata is irony. Irony is when something happens that is the opposite of what was expected. In the play, the use of irony is seen when the women are trying to keep the men from going to war. The men are so eager to go to war that they are willing to fight each other just to get to the front lines. This is the opposite of what was expected, as the women were trying to keep the men from fighting.
The use of literary devices allows the author to add depth and complexity to their work. In Lysistrata, the use of personification and irony allows the author to convey their opinion on War in a more effective way. Literary devices are an important tool that writers can use in order to create a more meaningful and interesting work.
Characters In Lysistrata
Lysistrata is the main character in the Lysistrata, an Ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes. Lysistrata is a strong and clever woman who comes up with a plan to end the Peloponnesian War. She convinces the women of Athens and Sparta to withhold sex from their husbands until they agree to stop fighting. Lysistrata’s plan is successful, and peace is finally achieved.
The other characters in Lysistrata include the chorus of old men and women, who represent the average citizens of Athens; Lysistrata’s husband, Myrrhine; and Kalonike, another woman who takes part in the strike. These characters all play important roles in the story, but Lysistrata is definitely the star.
Other important characters in Lysistrata include:
– The Chorus of Old Men: A group of old men who are against Lysistrata’s plan. They try to persuade her to change her mind, but she stands firm.
– The Chorus of Old Women: A group of old women who support Lysistrata’s plan. They encourage her to continue with her mission, even when things get tough.
– The Magistrate: The magistrate is a minor character who Lysistrata and the other women take hostage in order to prevent the men from attacking them.
– Cleonice: Cleonice is one of Lysistrata’s friends. She helps Lysistrata carry out her plan, and is also present during the final peace negotiations.
– Lampito: Lampito is a Spartan woman who joins Lysistrata’s cause. She helps to spread the word about Lysistrata’s plan, and convince other women to join in.
– Myrrhine: Myrrhine is Lysistrata’s wife. She is initially skeptical of Lysistrata’s plan, but eventually comes around and supports her.
– Calonice: Calonice is one of the women who takes part in Lysistrata’s plan. She is present during the final peace negotiations, and helps to convince the men to agree to a truce.
Dramatic Techniques
Lysistrata is a Greek comedy written by Aristophanes. It is a satire on the Peloponnesian War, and is notable for its use of dirty jokes, double entendres, slapstick humor, and political commentary.
The play contains many examples of dramatic techniques that are still used in modern theatre. Lysistrata herself is a master of rhetoric, and uses language to persuade the other women to join her in her quest to end the war. She also employs emotional manipulation, using pathos to appeal to the women’s sense of patriotism and love for their husbands and sons.
Aristophanes also makes use of dramatic irony, as when Lysistrata’s husband arrives home from the war only to find that his wife has locked him out of the house. The audience is aware of Lysistrata’s plan, but the characters are not, which creates a sense of suspense and humour.
The play also uses humour to criticise the war and those who support it. Lysistrata’s plan to withhold sex from the men is a way of mocking their desire for conquest, and their belief that war is more important than love or family. Aristophanes’ use of bawdy jokes and sexual innuendo is also a way of highlighting the absurdities of the war, and the ways in which it takes away from the things that truly matter in life.
The play is notable for its use of dramatic techniques such as irony, satire and double entendre. Lysistrata is also an excellent example of how humour can be used to make a serious point. Aristophanes was a master of comic timing, and Lysistrata is full of hilarious scenes and witty dialogue.
One of the most famous scenes in Lysistrata is the “Lampooning of the Elders”. In this scene, Lysistrata and her friends make fun of the older men who are trying to stop them from carrying out their plans. The women mock the men’s physical appearance, sexual prowess and intelligence. This scene is a prime example of Aristophanes’ use of satire to score political points.
Another notable scene is the “Peace Hymn”, in which the women sing about their hope for peace. This hymn is a beautiful and moving moment in the play, and it highlights the playwright’s skill at creating powerful emotional moments.
Lysistrata Analysis Essay
In Lysistrata, Aristophanes uses the Aristotle elements of character, language, and plot to effectively communicate that the women of Greece feel so sick and tired of the enduring Peloponnesian War that they decline sex with their husbands. In Lysistrata, Aristophanes uses language such as double entendres and metaphors to effectively communicate the overall meaning of Lysistrata. Although language in this play could be left up to the decision of the reader rather than Aristophanes due to lots of double entendres, the double entendres and metaphors in this play fit sound with its plot.
For instance, the opening scene in the Acropolis when Lysistrata introduces her plan, involves Lysistrata and Calonice conversing “it”, which refers to either Lysistrata’s plan or something a bit more tenacious. Calonice asks: “Is it a big/ thing? ” (19-20). Lysistrata then replies saying: “a very big thing” (21). Calonice then asks: “Big and meaty, you mean? ” (22). Lysistrata then states: ‘Very big and very meaty” (23).
By using this extended metaphor, Aristophanes shows that the defiant women have keen and witty personalities due to the bawdy double ntendres in this dialogue. Also, this interchange sets up the rest of the play, which remains also full of double entendres yet handles the important subjects of warfare and peacetime. Aristophanes successfully makes the language of the play augmented by incorporating a range of artistic devices appropriate to the numerous fragments of the play. Throughout the opening scene of Lysistrata, Aristophanes presents entertaining content through the use of female characters.
Just as the language mirrors the theme of the play. so does character progression support the action that occurs within it. The main character, Lysistrata, shows concern: “Sorry, Calonice, but I’m furious. I’m really dis- / appointed in womankind. All our husbands think we’re such / clever villians —” (10-12). These lines, spoken by Lysistrata is to her friend Calonice who responds “Well, aren’t we? ” (13) at the beginning of the play, set the scene for the action that trails.
Women, as represented by Calonice, have cunning debauchee-type personalities in need of firm leadership and course. Lysistrata; however, has a large sense of individual and social accountability and this is shown when she “called a meeting to discuss a / very major matter, and they’re [the women] all still fast asleep! ” (14-15). After she confides into Calonice, the women begin to arrive. Due to her lines and the way that her followers believe in, and attend to her orders, the reader is fully aware of her witty and charismatic personality.
Furthermore, she always keeps her final goal in mind, going so far as to test the Magistrate: “Listen, then – and try and keep those hands of / yours under control” (503-04). Still, Lysistrata does not exists as the only well-developed character. The choruses of men and women also serve an important purpose as they function as symbols of their sexes and keep the conflict stable. For instance, when the chorus of men learn that the women have seized the Acropolis, they hurry to set the place ablaze and smolder the women out.
Not far behind; however, exists the chorus of women, who quickly suppress the fire by dousing water on it. Also, neither the men nor the women in the play sense negation of morals. When Cinesias walks around with a quite aching erection, he does not settle for any woman to discharge him; instead, he hunts meticulously for his wife: “Then, for the gods sake, ask Myrrhine to come out / to me” (850-51). Because none of the characters feel callous nor negated of any moral volume, they appear more lifelike and; therefore, contribute to the play’s credibility.
All of the above elements underwrite, to a degree, the plot of the play. Lysistrata stands rationally sound. It begins with a meeting, grows into a proposal which is then instigated, and at the end, “it’s all happily settled… man… and wife… have a dance of thanksgiving” (1273-76). There exists no redundant scenes that do not contribute to the total effect. Indeed, the sporadic scenes serve to amplify the uncertainty and demonstrate how Lysistrata’s plan works.
For example, the scene between Myrrhine and Cinesias shows how desperate the men have grown for sex and how wily, ingenious, and strongminded the women feel. Calonice keeps insisting for Myrrhine to just: “lie down… and don’t bring… / anything for any reason. ” (948-49). Instead Myrrhine goes into the grotto looking for a portable bed, a mattress, a pillow, a blanket, a perfume, and another scent of perfume to stretch time and at the end of this situation, she tells Calonice to: “don’t forget to vote for making peace! (951).
He then says that he will think it over and Myrrhine just vanishes into the Acropolis without having sex with him. Without this scene, there would be no tailored view on what effect the self-restraint was having on all those involved. Therefore, the plot is well-thought-out, centered on the single action of conveying peace to Greece and Sparta, and leads to a sustaining and humorous conclusion. Although Aristotle thought that only his poetry applies to the respected form of tragedy, Aristophanes’s Lysistrata does too.
It has suitable and moving language, well established and concerned characters, and a plot that is unified, firm, and comical. Apart from a passing or a grand warfare skirmish, Lysistrata, according to Aristotle, is a work of fine art and commendable of its status as an early Greek play. In The Knights, Aristophanes states that to: “… win the people, always cook them some savoury that pleases them. ” His use of bawdy innuendos in Lysistrata bring this quote to life.