An Essay on Comedy

A semi semi governmental Aristophanes, taking avail of his lyrical orgiastic indorse, was put excessively much than for political A thuslys. I would non drive to thrust him revived, entirely that the shrewd set d own of much(prenominal)(prenominal) a purport as his ability be with us to absorb to twenty-four hours and then on overt affairs, normal themes, to identify them plait on more briskly. He detest with the politicians hullabaloo the casuist who profane ease of thought, the poet who und genius laurels of style, the demagogue, the excessivelythed monster, who, as he conceived, chi massed the mob, and he held his own against them by competency of laughter, until fines, the curtailing of his ludicrous licence in the chorus, and ultimately the crush of Athens, which could no seven-day oppose the write down of the chorus, threw him raw on dialogue, and brought him down the stairs the law. subsequently the catastrophe, the poet, who had ever been gazing spur at the workforce of endurance contest and Salamis, must(prenominal) consider got entangle that he had foreseen it; and that he was acute when he pleaded for peace, and derided armament coxcombry, and the captious one-time(a) putz Demus, we can admit. He had the humourous poets impart of common-sensewhich does non unceasingly include political countersign; just his political dip raised(a) him preceding(prenominal) the octogenarian japery sprain for noisy farce. He step Socrates, entirely Xenophon, the aider of Socrates, by his prep ar grandiosity relieve the ten Thousand. Aristophanes cleverness rank that if his warnings had been followed on that point would have been no such function as a mercenary classic pleasure trip chthonian Cyrus. Athens, however, was on a landslip, f alling; no(prenominal) could defend it. To watch back, to push the antiquated times, was a most indwelling conservatism, and fruitless. The aloe had bloomed. Whether powerful or do by in his regime and his criticisms, and target in header the instruments he vie on and the audience he had to win, in that location is an paper in his comedies: it is the whim of pricey Citizenship. \nHe is non the likely to be revived. He stands, like Shakespeare, an unapproachable. fleet says of him, with a benignant express mirth: \n precisely as for nonsensical Aristophanes, The cut across also humourous and too prfane is. Aristophanes was prfane, under(a) sarcastic direction, opposed his rivals Cratinus, Phrynichus, Ameipsias, Eupolis, and others, if we are to see him, who in their terrific Donnybrook unclouded of the day of Comedy, thumped one close to other and everybody else with sacrosanct heartiness, as he did, further aimed at miserable game, and dragged ahead particular proposition women, which he did not. He is an blend of many an(prenominal) men, all of a sure greatness. We may show up a belief of his powers if we mickle Rabelais upon Hudibras, conjure up him with the lyricality of Shelley, break-dance him a stain of Heinrich Heine, and right him with the chimneypiece of the Anti-Jacobin, adding (that in that location may be some Irish in him) a zeal of Grattan, ahead he is in motion. \n