Lysistrata: A Comedy of Stereotypes Essays -- essays research papers

LYSISTRATA, a funniness of stereotypesThe playwright Aristophanes wrote about an quaint Greece, Athens in particular, during a time of constant warfare. His play Lysistrata is an hear to amuse while putting across an anti-war message. In fact make up the naming of the play is an anti-war message of sorts. The word lysistrata means, disband the army (Jacobus 162). Aristophanes was a crafty writer he creates a work of art that causes his sense of hearing to think about the current state of affairs in their city. He points out that there is a major threat to Athens when all(a) the good, young fighters are sent off to war. Aristophanes acheives this aim by develop workforcet stereotypical characterizations of women to show how utterly defenseless Athens is without their young men at home. His message is a bit subliminal in character but still a heady one. Aristophanes realized that audiences dont come to plays to be preached at but to be entertained. To this end, he uses comedy an d comical characterizations to delight the spectators/readers. The principal form of comical characterization he depended on was stereotyping. As the main theme of the play, the female stereotype of fair sexs only power base being sex was potently employed. The main character Lysistrata and all the women in Greece band together to basically take over the city states to end the Peloponnesian war. They do this by exploiting their stereotypical power source, sexuality. This power source would...