Aristophanes: Clouds

by John Claughton, Judith Affleck

Treating ancient plays as living drama. Classical Greek drama is brought vividly to life in this series of new translations. Students are encouraged to engage with the text through detailed commentaries, including suggestions for discussion and analysis. In addition, numerous practical questions stimulate ideas on staging and encourage students to explore the play's dramatic qualities. Clouds is suitable for students of both Classical Civilisation and Drama. Useful features include full synopsis of the play, commentary alongside translation for easy reference and a comprehensive introduction to the Greek Theatre. Clouds is aimed primarily at A-level and undergraduate students in the UK, and college students in North America.

Genres: Classics, Plays, Drama, Philosophy, Ancient, School

138 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2012

Reviews

[lily]

this was wild, we've been haters from birth lowkey like this play could have been written by an annoyed teenage girl about her loser boyfriend

[amanda]

las þetta illa og skammast mín hef ENGA skoðun þar af leiðandi.

[/Fitbrah/ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the part where they call everyone f*gs.

[Jeffrey Rasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, of course, it's a classic, it's Aristophanes. But it's kind of sophomoric in its humor and it libeled Socrates in a way that was used against him at his trial. Socrates is branded a sophist, which he wasn't. Sophists were the precursors of out trial lawyers, i.e., legal guns for hire. Socrates (at least as we know him through Plato's Dialogues) was absolutely devoted to the philosophical pursuit of discovering the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Socrates's conception of the realm of ideas is in opposition to the relativism preached by the sophists.

I re-read Clouds lo these many years after college, because my UChicago Book Club chose it. One of the most interesting issues we discussed is what do the Clouds represent in the comedy. They are the Chorus. They are thus a character or voice within the narrative, but they also comment on the action from a meta perspective. They represent the new gods of physics, but they defend the traditional gods. So, Aristophanes seems to accept the reality of science as a method of discovery, but thinks Athenian society needs to hang on to the traditional Greek gods for stability. He lived through the Peloponnesian War, the destruction of the democracy, tyrannical rule, civil war, and a pandemic. So, it's understandable why he might want to return to a safer, traditional time.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Clouds by Aristophanes

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I'd always heard that Socrates was a character in the Clouds, but I hadn't realized that he was a main character.

Strepsiades is a venal cheater who doesn't want to pay his creditors. So, he gets the brilliant of idea of learning how to cheat his creditors in court by learning from a Sophist educator the wrong argument that always beats just arguments. The Sophist teacher in this case is Socrates.

Socrates and his school are depicted as wan, over-educated, buffoonish con-men. Strepsiades is not necessarily one step ahead, although his comic asides can elicit belly laughs and chuckles.

I was amazed by how little humor had evolved. The humor in this story would not have been out of place in Vaudeville. We thing that movies and TV shows that "break the fourth wall" are something new, but Aristophanes was doing that 2,500 years ago.

I was equally fascinated by how Aristophanes could lampoon his fellow Athenians - calling them cowards, pansies, or, in the case of Socrates, the biggest fool that ever lived. Apparently, there was no libel laws in Athens or method for settling disputes by dueling.

[Linmary ^⁠_⁠^ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[dido (hiatus, ia) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most bloody hilarious thing I've ever read.

[Arianna Pellisari · Rating 3 out of 5]

you’ve heard it here people going to the gym makes your dick smaller and your ass firmer

[max · Rating 5 out of 5]

These editions, published by Cambridge University Press as the ""Cambridge Translations from Greek Drama,", are the best available schoolbooks for Greek tragedy. This fine edition, the first of a Greek comedy in the series, was published in 2012. The text on the right and running notes on the left page (a format familiar to many from the paperbound school texts of the Folger Library of Shakespeare plays) make for a very helpful student format. Valuable appendices include a Synopsis of the Play, an Introduction to Greek Theater, and a Time Line. The translations are clear and very faithful to the original Greek, and the notes in particular are chock full of important information regarding themes and topics that are key to a sound understanding of the play.

Talk about underrated -- Aristophanes is at times laugh out loud funny, and some of his choral lyrics are so gorgeously beautiful they are reminiscent of passages in Milton's Comus. Nobody reads Aristophanes, of course -- at least in comparison with tragedy. And yet his reputation as one of the greatest Attic Greek writers -- right up there with Plato, Thucydides, the tragedians -- is permanently fixed. Apart from their comic brilliance, his eleven surviving plays are a great source of information on contemporary Athenian politics, social and religious practices, food and dining, and much more.

Warning Label: There is a lot of scatological and overtly sexual humor in Aristophanes. If Will Farrell and Adam Sandler appeal to you, you will be right at home with Aristophanes.

This play was first produced in 423. It satirizes the Athenian philosopher, Socrates, and is even alluded to in the Apology of Socrates, Plato's work purporting to be the speech given by Socrates when he was put on trial in 399 for corrupting the youth of Athens and not believing in the gods of the Athenians.

[Fawad Khan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it interesting because it is about Socrates and it makes fun of him. I felt that the end was a bit too violent and overall the play makes fun of socrates and his new teachings and his philosophical arguments. But still worth a read for people interested in Ancient Greek Literature and Drama.

[Adrian · Rating 2 out of 5]

An early ‘clever comedy’ by Aristophanes and it’s a bit trying. I could read into it some arguments between the old-fashioned hard-working traditions versus the new-fangled morally-dubious but surprisingly effective ways, not to mention the benefits of a quick wit, but actually I think I’ll just take the expletive-filled dirty jokes and leave.

[Ariel Wolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

The overall premise of the play is good, however, it is very hard to follow. May be interesting to view as a play, rather than just read as one. It may make more sense if visually seen. However, similar to Shakespeare, if you’re not accustomed to reading ancient comedies, it’ll be difficult to follow.

[M.G. Bianco · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if Aristophanes was not trying to make Socrates look guilty and foolish to the Athenians, but rather was trying to show them how ridiculous Socrates would have to behave if he were actually guilty of everything they thought he was? I think the Clouds leaves room for just such a situation.

[Dave Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

surprisingly funny

[dilara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Story Cheung · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was so silly! I loved the wax fly booties !

[Nicholas Kaplan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aristophanes has zero chill. Love him for it.

[Mackenzie McLeod · Rating 1 out of 5]

I still could not tell you what this was about.

[James Carrigy]

Unable to review due to its fragmentary state.

[Dmk · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Reading
I decided to read this play just becouse it's "that play that mocks Socrates". I found much more in it. There is so many lovely and funny characters in the play and some of the jokes very really funny. Storyline is unfortunately quite simple but it's developent is good and one could quite easily relate to the discussed themes. I could imagine many of it happening in today's world. So there's no need to fear that the plot would be for reader too outlindish.
You won't fall out of chair by laughing and you won't spend days rethinging arguments from play but it's entertaining and interesting to read play like this. And If you find Plato's Socrates annoying (you know that "I kinda know why they sentenced him to dring hemlock" feeling) you may really enjoy reading this due to all jokes about him.

Second Reading
I decided to reread it again after havng read all surviving greek comedies. And this one really is a treasure. Though at stage in theater it would be easily beaten by other plays, this one is more suitable for being published as a book and much more accesible for someone who has no deeper knowledge in ancient comedies.
The plot is so smart, working with quite a big number of situation, contrasting different people in similar situation (being in Socrates' school) and interesting dialoque between Superior Reason and Inferior one. In this one Aristophanes really shows as an inteligent playwright more than just master of sex jokes and I am looking forward to read this interesting piece again. But yes, Lysistrata is much more fun.

[Daisy Gunning · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read from penguin translation - specifically likely an 8/10).

Likely my favorite work from Aristophanes (that I've read), it is of course hysterical at times (although I find the humor often too crass for me) and also contains genuine interesting commentary and a sort of tragic ending of sorts.

The depiction of Socrates is a fascinating insight on how he was perceived in Classical Athens, and demonstrates the influence of playwrights at that time, as well as the critique of sophism providing brilliant insight also!

Could likely go on about this forever, but this is a review not a Classics essay!!!

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit that I only bought this book because I read the quote about the ideal man ("broad shoulders, a humble tongue, firm buttocks, and a neat little prick") in the context of an article on Greek statue penis size (turns out that they're not particularly small after all) and liked it enough to read the rest of the play.

It's good! I was laughing at 2400-year-old jokes.

The translation is quite loose in this edition, which works well but left me wanting to read another edition to compare.

[Desmond White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, this guy Socrates sounds like a real loser.

[Tallulah · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need to make mainstream humor full of peepee poopoo humor and teasing intellectuals again!