Alcestis * Heracles * Children of Heracles * Cyclops

Euripideswrote about timeless themes, of friendship and enmity, hope and despair, duty and betrayal. The first three plays in this volume are filled with violence or its threat, while the fourth,Cyclops, is our only surviving example of a genuine satyr play, with all the crude and slapstick humour that characterized the genre.

There is death in Alcestis, which explores the marital relationship of Alcestis and Admetus with pathos and grim humour, but whose status as tragedy is subverted by a happy ending. The blood-soaked Heracles portrays deep emotional pain and undeserved suffering; its demand for a more humanistic ethics in the face of divine indifference and callousness makes it one of Euripides' more popular and profound plays. Children of Heracles is a rich and complex work, famous for its dialogues and monologues, in which the effects of war on refugees and the consequences of sheltering them are movingly explored. In Cyclops Euripides takes the familiar story of Odysseus' escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus and turns it to hilarious comic effect.

Euripides' other plays are all available in Oxford World's Classics.

Readership: students and readers of classical literature, drama, classical culture and civilization, tragedy, Euripides

Research ArticleThe Overworked PlaywrightA Study in Euripides'CyclopsPeter D. ArnottTheCyclopsis a neglected play. Although commending itself by its brevity to teachers as an easy introduction toEuripides, it has received little critical attention and is only rarely performed. Nevertheless the feeling persists that even this slight work, being by Euripides, must be treated with respect. A recent school edition comments, The preservation of ancient literature does seem in some measure to have illustrated the principle of the survival of the fittest; and theCyclopsmay have been one of the few satyric dramas which really deserve to be handed down to us. Similarly J. Duchemin, in his critical edition published a few years earlier, cautiously suggests that the characterization of Polyphemos embodies familiar themes in later fifth-century thought: Son Cyclope est, semble-t-il, auprs des autres, une figure volue, et par certains cts vraiment moderne: le materialisme intellectuel affich dans l' avec Ulysse, et o l'on a voulu retrouver les traces de la sophistique (v. 316 sqq.), marque de toute evidence une tape nouvelle dans le dveloppement du personnage. The purpose of this article is to re-examine the status of the play, and inquire whether such tributes are really justified. I hope to gather together certain considerations, some already familiar, others perhaps less well known, which suggest that the value of theCyclops, both as drama and as an illustration ofEuripides' thought, is negligible, and that the illustrious name of its author has led us to look for merit where none exists.

Peter D. Arnott (1961). The Overworked Playwright A Study in Euripides' Cyclops. Greece and Rome (Second Series), 8, pp 164-169 doi:10.1017/S0017383500014388

Introduction

Cyclops(Gr:Kyklops) is a satyr play by the ancient Greek playwrightEuripides, the only complete satyr play that has survived from ancient Greece. It is a comical burlesque-like play on the story ofOdysseus capture by and escape from the one-eyed giant Cyclops,Polyphemus, as described inHomersOdyssey. The date of its presentation is uncertain but may have been around 408BCE(or possibly much earlier).Synopsis

On the voyage home from the Trojan War,Odysseusand his crew have lost their way and make a stop at Mount Aetna in Sicily, which is inhabited by the race of primitive one-eyed giants known as the Cyclops. They encounter the satyrs (who make up the Chorus of the play) and their drunken father Silenus, who have been enslaved by one particular Cyclops (PolyphemusfromThe Odyssey, although he is referred to merely as "The Cyclops" throughout).Odysseusoffers to trade wine to Silenus in return for food for his hungry crew and, despite the fact that the food is not his to trade, the servant ofDionysuscannot resist the promise of more wine. When the Cyclops arrives, Silenus is quick to accuseOdysseusof stealing the food, swearing on all the gods and the satyrs' lives that he is telling the truth.Despite the efforts of a younger and more modern satyr to make the truth known, the angry Cyclops herdsOdysseusand his crew into his cave and begins to devour them. Appalled by what he has witnessed,Odysseusmanages to escape and hatches a scheme to get the Cyclops drunk and then burn out his single eye with a giant poker.The Cyclops and Silenus drink together, trying to outdo each other in their efforts. When the Cyclops is well and truly drunk, he steals Silenus away to his cave (presumably for sexual gratification), andOdysseussees the opportunity to execute the next phase of his plan. The satyrs offer to help, but then chicken out with a variety of absurd excuses when the time actually comes, and the annoyedOdysseusgets his crew to help instead. Between them, they succeed in burning out the Cyclops' eye.The blinded Cyclops screams that he has been blinded by No-one (the nameOdysseusgave on their first meeting) and the satyrs make fun of him. However, the egotisticalOdysseusblurts out his real name by mistake and, although he and his crew manage to make their escape, the rest of the troublesOdysseusfaces on his voyage home are due to this act, since the Cyclops was a child of Poseidon.Analysis

Although the play has some intrinsic merits, its main interest for modern readers is as the sole remaining complete specimen of the tradition of satyric drama. Satyr plays (not to be confused with satires) were an ancient Greek form of irreverent tragicomedy, similar to the modern-day burlesque style, featuring a Chorus of satyrs (the half-man half-goat followers of Pan andDionysus, who roamed the woods and mountains) and based on themes of Greek mythology, but containing themes of drinking, overt sexuality, pranks and general merriment.Satyr plays were presented as a lighthearted follow-up after each trilogy of tragedies at the Athenian Dionysia drama festivals to release the tragic tension of the preceding plays. The heroes would speak in tragic iambic verse, apparently taking their own situation very seriously, as contrasted with the flippant, irreverent and obscene remarks and antics of the satyrs. The dances used were usually characterized by violent and rapid movements, parodying and caricaturing the noble and graceful dances of the tragedies.The story is taken directly from Book IX ofHomer'sOdyssey, the only innovation being the presence of Silenus and the satyrs. The discordant elements of the brave, adventurous and resourceful warriorOdysseus, the gross and brutal Cyclops, the drunken Silenus and the cowardly and licentious satyrs are combined byEuripideswith rare skill into a work of harmonious beauty.Resources

English translation by E. P. Coleridge (Internet Classics Archive):http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/cyclops.html Greek version with word-by-word translation (Perseus Project):http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0093

It might have been expected that the cyclops, as our only complete surviving satyr-play, would attract wide attention among scholars. in fact, it has largely been neglected: no edition has appeared for over forty years in English. the present paper aims merely to suggest that the time may be ripe for reappraisal.The title of the paper must be taken very strictly-- it deals with the play and that alone. no detailed comparison is offered of the dtory as told by euripides and homer and other treatmentss of the Cyclops theme in literarture or art are very few

The 'Cyclops' of EuripidesR. G. UssherGreece & RomeSecond Series, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Oct., 1971), pp. 166-179(article consists of 16 pages)Published by:Cambridge University Presson behalf ofThe Classical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/642651

Dramatic StructureEuripides' plays received criticism for their structure. His use of the chorus as independent of the chief action of the drama was unconventional, and some of his works contain brilliant detached episodes that do not form coherent units through which the plots are gradually developed. However, this criticism does not hold true of many of Euripides' plays. In Medea, for example, the plot is steadily developed from prologue to devastating climax. In many of Euripides' later plays, the choral odes serve to reinforce leading themes rather than to advance the dramatic action. Euripides has also been criticized for using the explanatory prologue, in which he makes known to the spectators the events that precede the opening of the play and often outlines coming events. Aristophanes ridiculed him for the mechanical and exaggerated use of this device, which was frequently burdened with long histories of the dramatis personae. His other devices include thedeus ex machina, the unexpected introduction of a god to facilitate, or bring about, the denouement; and the alteration of legends to suit the requirements of plot.PlotsEuripides took his plots from the same general source as the other Greek dramatists. The native Greek myths and legends held a strong attraction for him-particularly the adventures of Athenian heroes such as Theseus. He also sought for subjects in new fields, especially for themes that suggested violent emotions and romantic action. Such were the stories of the heroes Bellerophon and Phathon, which were treated dramatically for the first time by Euripides.

Euripedes' Medea opens in a state of conflict. Jason has abandoned his wife, Medea, along with their two children. He hopes to advance his station by remarrying with Glauce, the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth, the Greek city where the play is set. All the events of play proceed out of this initial dilemma, and the involved parties become its central characters.Outside the royal palace, a nurse laments the events that have lead to the present crisis. After a long series of trials and adventures, which ultimately forced Jason and Medea to seek exile in Corinth, the pair had settled down and established their family, achieving a degree of fame and respectability. Jason's recent abandonment of that family has crushed Medea emotionally, to the degree that she curses her own existence, as well as that of her two children.Fearing a possible plot of revenge, Creon banishes Medea and her children from the city. After pleading for mercy, Medea is granted one day before she must leave, during which she plans to complete her quest for "justice"--at this stage in her thinking, the murder of Creon, Glauce, and Jason. Jason accuses Medea of overreacting. By voicing her grievances so publicly, she has endangered her life and that of their children. He claims that his decision to remarry was in everyone's best interest. Medea finds him spineless, and she refuses to accept his token offers of help.Appearing by chance in Corinth, Aegeus, King of Athens, offers Medea sanctuary in his home city in exchange for her knowledge of certain drugs that can cure his sterility. Now guaranteed an eventual haven in Athens, Medea has cleared all obstacles to completing her revenge, a plan which grows to include the murder of her own children; the pain their loss will cause her does not outweigh the satisfaction she will feel in making Jason suffer.For the balance of the play, Medea engages in a ruse; she pretends to sympathize with Jason (bringing him into her confidence) and offers his wife "gifts," a coronet and dress. Ostensibly, the gifts are meant to convince Glauce to ask her father to allow the children to stay in Corinth. The coronet and dress are actually poisoned, however, and their delivery causes Glauce's death. Seeing his daughter ravaged by the poison, Creon chooses to die by her side by dramatically embracing her and absorbing the poison himself.A messenger recounts the gruesome details of these deaths, which Medea absorbs with cool attentiveness. Her earlier state of anxiety, which intensified as she struggled with the decision to commit infanticide, has now given way to an assured determination to fulfill her plans. Against the protests of the chorus, Medea murders her children and flees the scene in a dragon-pulled chariot provided by her grandfather, the Sun-God. Jason is left cursing his lot; his hope of advancing his station by abandoning Medea and marrying Glauce, the conflict which opened the play, has been annihilated, and everything he values has been lost through the deaths that conclude the tragedy.Medea- Protagonist of the play, Medea's homeland is Colchis, an island in the Black Sea, which the Greeks considered the edge of the earth--a territory of barbarians. A sorceress and a princess, she used her powers and influence to help Jason secure the Golden Fleece; then, having fallen in love with him, she fled her country and family to live with Jason in Iolcus, his own home. During the escape across the Mediterranean, she killed her brother and dumped him overboard, so that her pursuers would have to slow down and bury him. While in Iolcus, she again used her devilish cleverness to manipulate the daughters of the local king and rival, Pelias, into murdering their own father. Exiled as murderers, Jason and Medea settled in Corinth, the setting of Euripides' play, where they established a family of two children and gained a favorable reputation. All this precedes the action of the play, which opens with Jason having divorced Medea and taken up with a new family. The play charts Medea's emotional transformation, a progression from suicidal despair to sadistic fury. She eventually avenges Jason's betrayal with a series of murders, concluding with the deaths of her own children. Famously, the pleasure of watching Jason suffer their loss outweighed her own remorse at killing them. src="http://view.atdmt.com/APM/view/sprkndrv0010000507apm/direct;wi.300;hi.250/01/" /> Jason- Jason can be considered the play's villain, though his evil stems more from weakness than strength. A former adventurer, he abandons his wife, Medea, in order to marry Glauce, the beautiful young daughter of Creon, King of Corinth. Hoping to advance his station through this second marriage, he only fuels Medea to a revenge that includes the deaths of his new bride, her father, and his children. Jason's tactless self-interest and whiny rationalizations of his own actions make him a weak, unsympathetic character. Children - The offspring of Jason and Medea, the children are presented as nave and oblivious to the intrigue that surrounds them. Medea uses them as pawns in the murder of Glauce and Creon, and then kills them in the play's culminating horror. Their innocent deaths provide the greatest element of pathos--the tragic emotion of pity--in the play. Chorus - Composed of the women of Corinth, the chorus chiefly serves as a commentator to the action, although it occasionally engages directly in the dialogue. The chorus members fully sympathize with Medea's plight, excepting her eventual decision to murder her own children. Creon- The King of Corinth, Creon banishes Medea from the city. Although a minor character, Creon's suicidal embrace of his dying daughter provides one of the play's most dramatic moments, and his sentence against Medea lends an urgency to her plans for revenge. Glauce- Daughter of Creon, Glauce is the young, beautiful princess for whom Jason abandons Medea. Her acceptance of the poisoned coronet and dress as "gifts" leads to the first murder of the play. Although she never utters a word, Glauce's presence is constantly felt as an object of Medea's jealousy. (Glauce is also referred to as Creusa.) Aegeus- The King of Athens, Aegeus passes through Corinth after having visited the Oracle at Delphi, where he sought a cure for his sterility. Medea offers him some fertility-inducing drugs in exchange for sanctuary in Athens. His appearance marks a turning point in the play, for Medea moves from being a passive victim to an aggressor after she secures his promise of sanctuary. Messenger- The messenger appears only once in the play--he relates in gruesome, vivid detail the death scenes of Glauce and Creon, which occur offstage. Nurse - Caretaker of the house, the nurse of the children serves as Medea's confidant. Her presence is mainly felt in the play's opening lament and in a few speeches addressing diverse subjects not entirely related to the action of the play. Tutor - A very minor character, the tutor of the children mainly acts as a messenger, as well as the person responsible for shuffling the children around from place to place.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST: FREE STUDY NOTES LITERARY ELEMENTS SETTING Setting is a key element in this play because it offers a guise for the main characters alias. This adds to the hilarity that develops from misunderstandings both intended and accidental. The primary settings are the city: London, and the country: Hertfordshire, England. Act I: Algernon Moncrieffs flat in Half-Moon Street

Act II: The Garden at the Manor House, Woolton

Act III: Drawing room of the Manor House, Woolton.

The time period is the 1890s.

CHARACTER LIST Major Characters

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John Worthing, J.P. Known as Jack in the country, Ernest in the city. He escapes country life by pretending to have a brother, Ernest, who continuously gets into trouble in the city and requires his assistance. He is the guardian of Cecily and wants to marry Gwendolen, but is not allowed to because her mother does not approve of his being found as an infant in Victoria Station.

Minor Characters Algernon Moncrieff Algernon in the city, Ernest in the country. Algernon is the cousin of Gwendolen and wants to marry Cecily. He claims to have an ill friend, Bunbury, whom he visits in the country when he wants to escape the city. Rev. Canon Chasuble D.D. Chasuble is the pedantic reverend who resides in the country near Jack. He is in love with Miss Prism Merriman Jacks butlerLane Algernons manservant Lady Bracknell Gwendolens mother and Algernons aunt. She refuses to allow the marriage of Gwendolen and JackHon. Gwendolen Fairfax Daughter of Lady Bracknell. She wishes to marry Jack, whom she believes is Ernest. Cecily Cardew Ward of Jack. She wishes to marry Algernon, whom she believes is Jacks younger brother Ernest. Miss Prism The governess of Cecily. She once wrote a novel, but never published it. She is involved in a very important mishap.

CONFLICT The major conflict in this play is that Jack wants to marry Gwendolen, who believes his name is really Ernest-and loves him for that, and that he cannot because Lady Bracknell does not approve of Jacks background. Protagonist The protagonist is the main character of the story, and the one around whom most of the action revolves. In this story, the protagonist is Jack Worthing. He is the protagonist because the plot revolves around his attempt to marry Gwendolen. Antagonist The antagonist is the principle character that opposes the protagonist. This story is a bit unusual, as it is more rooted in satire than anything else, in that its antagonist is Lady Bracknell. This is because she opposes the main intentions of the protagonist. Her refusal to allow her daughter to marry the main character is from where much of the plot stems. Climax The climactic moment (moment when the plot reaches a high point in its action after which everything leads toward resolution) is when the two main female characters, Gwendolen and Cecily, confront Jack and Algernon, who have both been pretending to be Ernest. This moment is a result of Jack wanting to marry Gwendolen and not being allowed to do so and the resultant trip of Algernon to Jacks home, where he, too, pretends to be Ernest. The major conflict is resolved, ironically, when Jack discovers his true identity is his false identity: he was really named Ernest when he was born. Furthermore, he is from a reputable background.

SHORT SUMMARY (Synopsis) The play opens in Algernon Moncrieffs home in London. Algernon and his manservant are discussing marriage. After Lane exits, Algernon remarks that it is the job of the lower classes to set an example. Algernons friend, Ernest Worthing, whose real name is Jack, stops in for a visit. It becomes apparent that Jack wants to marry Algernons cousin Gwendolen. Algernon refuses to give consent because he has found a cigarette case that Jack previously left behind. The inscription reveals it is from a lady named Cecily to her Uncle Jack. Jack admits that he goes by the name Ernest in the city and Jack in the country. Cecily is his ward. To escape country life, he pretends that he has a brother, named Ernest, whom gets into trouble and needs his assistance. Algernon admits that he has the same habit, and he refers to it as Bunburying. He pretends to have an ill friend named Bunbury, whom he must visit, when he wishes to escape the country. Lady Bracknell and her daughter Gwendolen arrive. Jack proposes to Gwendolen and she accepts, claiming also that she could not love him if his name were not Ernest, which she still believes it to be. However, upon questioning Jack, Lady Bracknell learns that he was found as an infant, abandoned at Victoria Station. She does not approve of this and will not consent to the marriage. The remainder of the play takes place at Jacks house in the country. Act II commences with Miss Prism and Cecily doing lessons in the garden. They discuss Johns poor, miserable, younger brother Ernest and wonder if he will visit. The lessons are interrupted when Dr. Chasuble, the reverend, takes Miss Prism for a walk-it becomes apparent that they admire one another. In the meantime, Algernon, claiming to be Jacks younger brother, arrives and meets Cecily. They banter back and forth and become fond of one another. They enter the house in search of something for Algernon to eat. Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble enter the garden. Jack unexpectedly appears (he was supposed to be out of town until Monday) and claims that his brother Ernest has died. He then asks if Dr, Chasuble will baptize him that afternoon and he agrees. Cecily enters the garden and tells Jack that his brother has arrived for an unexpected visit. Jack claims not to have a brother, which Cecily mistakes as his anger at Ernests troublesome ways and defends him by saying that he has promised to change, which he has promised her earlier. Algernon enters; Cecily, Miss Prism, and Dr. Chasuble exit. Algernon and Jack argue; Jack tells the butler, Merriman, to order Algernon a dog-cart so that he can leave immediately. Later, while alone, Algernon and Cecily profess their love for one another, and Algernon asks her to marry him. She agrees, and tells him that she has been writing about their engagement for three months in her diary. She tells him that she could not love him if his name were not Ernest. He leaves to make plans to be baptized. Gwendolen appears, and Cecily sits with her for tea. After talking for a bit they realize that they are both engaged to Ernest Worthing and become hostile. The men return and clear up the matter. However, they must reveal their identities. The women reconcile and exit the garden, angry. Jack and Algernon finally go after Gwendolen and Cecily. They tell their loves that they only faked their identities so that they would be able to see them more. The women love this idea, but are still upset about the mens names. The men tell them that they have arranged to both be baptized as Ernest that very afternoon. Everyone reconciles. All is well until Lady Bracknell arrives; she has gotten the address from Gwendolens maid. She asks Algernon if this is the residence of Bunbury. He tells her that Bunbury has died. Lady Gwendolen still will not allow the marriage of Gwendolen to Jack. Jack says that if she will not allow their marriage then he, as Cecilys guardian, will not allow the marriage of Cecily to Algernon. Dr. Chasuble arrives for the christenings. Jack tells Chasuble that his services are no longer necessary. Dr. Chasuble mentions that he is returning to Miss Prism, and Lady Bracknell, recognizing her name and subsequent description, demands to see her. Miss Prism arrives and it is revealed that twenty-eight years ago she was in charge of the son of Lady Bracknells sister-Mrs. Moncrieff, Algernons mother. Miss Prism accidentally placed the baby in her hand-bag and a novel she had written in the carriage. She lost the baby in Victoria Station. Jack is delighted to hear this and retrieves the bag that he was left in twenty eight years ago in Victoria Station-it is the same one. He is Algernons older brother. After reviewing army records they discover that his fathers name, therefore as oldest son, his name, was Ernest John Worthing. He has been, the whole time, inadvertently, living the truth. He is now able to marry Gwendolen and gives consent for Algernon to marry Cecily. All ends well. ACT I Summary The play opens in the morning room of Algernon Moncrieffs flat in London. His servant, Lane, is arranging tea and Algernon is in another room playing the piano. Algernon enters and asks Lane if he has heard him playing. Lane says he did not think it was polite to listen. Algernon tells him that is terrible because while he does not play accurately, he plays with wonderful expression. It becomes apparent that Algernons aunt, Lady Bracknell, is coming for tea. The discussion turns to marriage when Algernon asks Lane why servants always drink the champagne during dinner parties. Lane informs him that bachelors always have the best wine. Algernon asks if marriage is so demoralizing. Lane informs us that he was married once but only as the result of a misunderstanding, so he is not sure. Lane exits; Algernon comments that Lanes views seem lax and the lower orders have no use if they will not set an example. He comments that Lanes class seems to have a lack of moral responsibility. Unexpectedly, Algernons friend Jack Worthing drops in. Jack resides most of the time in the countryside and is visiting town. Lane and Algernon are under the impression that Jacks name is Ernest and refer to him as so. Jack is happy to learn that Lady Bracknell (Aunt Augusta) and her daughter Gwendolen are coming because he wants to propose marriage to Gwendolen. Algernon says that he will not be able to marry her because he flirts with her, which Aunt Augusta does not like. Furthermore, as Gwendolens first cousin he will refuse to offer his consent unless Jack settles a question for him.

He has found a cigarette case that Jack had forgotten upon his last visit. There is an inscription, which states: "From little Cecily, with her fondest love to her dear Uncle Jack." Jack tries to pretend it is from an aunt. Eventually, he must admit that Cecily is his ward. To escape the country whenever he likes, he pretends to have a brother in the city named Ernest who continually needs help getting out of trouble. Algernon is amused by this and tells Jack that he is a Bunburyist. This is a term Algernon has coined for someone who creates a character that he must visit, thus allowing him an excuse to leave. Algernon himself has created a friend named Bunbury, who is frequently ill and in need of care. Jack further explains that Cecily is the granddaughter of a man named Thomas Cardew, who has passed away. Cardew adopted Jack as a baby and now Cecily has been entrusted to Jack. Because he feels that he must be respectable around Cecily and always set a good example, he had to create Ernest so he would be able to escape and be himself whenever he wanted. Jack tries to assure Algernon that he is through with Ernest, but Algernon tells Jack that if he does marry he better keep Ernest around because he will need him more than ever. Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen arrive. Jack is able to witness Algernons Bunburying when he tells his aunt that he will be unable to attend her dinner that evening because he must attend to his sick friend. Algernon escorts Lady Bracknell into the music room, leaving Jack and Gwendolen alone. They confess their love for one another, and Cecily accepts Jacks marriage proposal. However, she says that she loves him particularly because his name is Earnest and that if here were named anything else, like Jack for example, she could not love him. Lady Bracknell returns and Gwendolen informs her of the engagement. Lady Bracknell informs Gwendolen that she does not have the autonomy to engager herself; that is the job of her parents. She orders Gwendolen to leave in order to ask Jack some questions. She inquires about all aspects of Jacks life and background and seems somewhat satisfied until she asks him who his parents are. Lady Bracknell is appalled to find out that Jack was found in a cloakroom in Victorias station and raised by Thomas Cardew-the man who found him. Lady Bracknell tells Jack she will not allow Gwendolen to marry him and leaves. Jack is very upset and tells Algernon that he plans to kill Ernest and return to being Jack all of the time. In the meantime, Gwendolen returns and tells him that her mother will never allow the marriage but Jack will always have her undying love, no matter what. Notes This section sets the tone for the rest of the play, which is very satirical. It is also the exposition. Wilde cleverly harnesses characterization and dialogue to convey the absurdities of Victorian London society. Wilde establishes, here, his major themes for the duration of the play: absurdity of society, marriage as a superficial contract, and his satirical wit. This play can be considered as a comedy of manners, because it uses an ironic tone while observing upper class society, whose members seem to value the wrong things. Because of this, the play is humorous In the very beginning Wilde presents an interaction between Algernon, a man of status, and Lane, his manservant. Algernon asks Lane if he has heard him playing the piano. When Lane responds that he has not, Algernon thinks it a pity because he plays with wonderful expression, if not accurately. One can take this as an example of Wildes support of the Aesthetic movement, which valued art for arts sake. This philosophy did not require art to instruct or handle political issues. Unconcerned with the accuracy of his music, and in appreciation of its artistic value, Algernon can, here, be viewed s an aesthete. Algernon and Lane discuss the institution of marriage an, ironically, consider it demoralizing. This is unusual because Victorian society held marriage in high esteem. Consistently, throughout this play, Wilde will repeat this satirical view of marriage. Finally, in another surprising moment, Algernon states that he believes it is the job of the lower classes to set an example for the upper classes. This is interesting, because it re-situates the hierarchical nature of society, which assumes richer to be better. Lacy Bracknell is an interesting character because she is of high society and acts seemingly irrationally. Her decision to not allow Gwendolen to marry Jack, based on his being found in a cloakroom as a baby, seems ridiculous. She disregards love as a basis for marriage. Wilde uses her to display the superficiality of the upper class. Interestingly, he also portrays Gwendolen as shallow when she says that she could not love Ernest if he had another name. ACT II Summary Act II opens at the Manor House, Jacks home in the country. Jacks ward, Cecily Cardew is studying with her tutor, Miss. Prism. The conversation between the two presents Cecily as an uninspired student and Miss. Prism as the proper teacher. The subject turns to the serious nature of Uncle Jack. Ironically, Miss. Prism states that Jack has no room for trivial amusements in his life because he is so laden with responsibility (we remember that Jack leads a double life and is quite taken with the trivial amusement of it). Cecily expresses her wish that Uncle Jack would allow his brother Ernest, the unfortunate young man, to visit. The subject changes to writing: Cecily keeps a diary so that she can remember all that happens to her; Miss. Prism once wrote a novel, which was mislaid. Their conversation is then interrupted by the entrance of Dr. Chasuble. Cecily, who is less than enthralled with her lessons, comments that Miss. Prism has a headache, which she does not, and could benefit from a walk. Miss. Prism remarks that she has said no such thing; Dr. Chasuble take the opportunity to flirt with Miss. Prism, and she agrees to go with him. It is apparent that there is an attraction between the two. Cecily is left to do her studies; however, she proclaims them horrid and throws her books. At this moment the butler, Merriman, enters the garden and announces the arrival of Ernest Worthing (who is really Algernon, pretending to be Jacks brother). The two engage in a witty conversation. Cecily tells Algernon that he has missed her uncle; he wont be returning until Monday afternoon. He says that is unfortunate because he must leave Monday morning; thus, the two will miss one another. Cecily informs Algernon that Jack plans on sending Ernest to Australia; he has the choice between this world, the next world, and Australia. This leads to a discussion of Ernests goodness. He asks Cecily if she will reform him. When she says she does not have the time that afternoon, he says he will reform himself. A flirtatious rapport begins between Algernon and Cecily and the exit the garden into the house, in search of a meal. Meanwhile, Miss. Prism and Dr. Chasuble return to the garden from their walk. The have a discussion about marriage-Miss. Prism urging Dr. Chasuble to marry; Dr. Chasuble, who is also a reverend, saying he will not because the Primitive Church did not allow it. Jack enters, dressed in black, cutting their conversation short. They are surprised to see him, as he was not due to return until Monday. Jack informs them that his brother, Ernest, has does of a severe chill in Paris. Jack was informed by telegraph from the hotel manager. Dr. Chasuble says that he will mention Ernests story during his sermon on Sunday. The sermon is about the meaning of the manna in the wilderness and he is able to adapt it to any occasion. The conversation turns to Jacks desire to be christened (he must change his name to Ernest in order for Gwendolyn to truly love him). Dr. Chasuble agrees to christen him at half past five, after the other babies. Cecily emerges from the house and announces that she has a surprise for Uncle Jack: his brother, Ernest, has come to visit! Jack is shocked and says that he does not have a brother. Cecily, not having heard of Ernests death interprets this as Jacks anger at his brothers troublesome ways. She tells Jack that Ernest has pledged to mend his ways and retrieves him from the house. When Jack and Algernon meet face to face, Jack says that his visit is a disgrace. Cecily defends Algernon (Ernest) by saying that he has been caring for his ill friend, Bunbury. Jack begrudgingly accepts a handshake from Algernon, only because Cecily says she will never forgive him if he does not. Dr. Chasuble thinks this is a perfect reconciliation and he, Mrs. Prism, and Cecily exit to leave the brothers alone. Jack tells Algernon that he allows no Bunburying at his country home and he must leave at once. Merriman enters to inform Jack that he has arranged Algernons things, which make it appear as though he has planned an extended stay. Jack instructs Merriman to order a dog-cart to escort Ernest at once because he has been called back to town. Jack and Algernon go back and forth with Algernon claiming that Jack has no fashion sense, and Jack claiming that Algernon is vain. Jack exits. In the meantime, Cecily has returned to the garden to water the roses. She and Algernon begin conversing; she expresses sadness that he should leave so soon, as that is more painful with someone you have known only a short time. When Merriman announced the arrival of the dog-cart, Algernon tells him to order it to come next week at the same time; he has decided to stay. Algernon confesses his love for her and asks her to marry him. She at once accepts and tells him that they have been engaged for three months. She created a fictitious relationship between them in her diary, which includes a ring (that she actually purchased), a breaking off of the engagement, a series of letters, and the eventual reuniting of the pair. Cecily tells him that she could not love him if he had another name. He parts with Cecily, telling her that he must see Dr. Chasuble about a christening, then corrects himself by saying it is regarding important business. Algernon exits and Merriman enters the garden, informing Cecily that a Ms. Fairfax (Gwendolen) has come to visit her uncle. Jack has gone to the rectory, so Cecily agrees to entertain Ms. Fairfax (whom she supposes is an old woman involved in philanthropic work with Uncle Jack). The ladies immediately profess their admiration of one another. Gwendolen likes Cecilys name and they agree to call one another by each others first name. As they begin to talk, Gwendolen discovers that Cecily is Jacks (who she still believes is Ernest) ward. She says that she wishes Cecily were a bit less alluring. When Gwendolen refers to Cecilys guardian as Ernest, Cecily corrects her by telling Gwendolen that Ernests brother Jack is her guardian and that she is engaged to Ernest. Gwendolen grows very upset and she and Cecily compare diaries. Gwendolen argues that since Ernest proposed to her yesterday, she has the rightful claim to him. The women argue a bit and revert back to calling one another by their proper titles (Ms. Cardew, Ms. Fairfax). Jack enters and finds the women having tea. He approaches Gwendolen to kiss her; she holds back and asks if he is engaged to Cecily. He says of course he is not. Cecily tells Gwendolen that she is mistaken; this man is not Ernest. He is her guardian, Mr. John Worthing. Algernon then enters and Cecily proclaims that he is the true Ernest. Algernon goes to kiss her and she asks if he is engaged to Gwendolen. He says that of course he is not engaged to her. Gwendolen states that there is some mistake: this man is Mr. Algernon Moncrieff. The women embrace and end their quarrel. Jack tells them there is no Ernest. The women exit into the house. Jack is outraged at Algernon for Bunburying at his house. Algernon believes that Jack is deceptive as well. Then men argue over muffins that have been put out for the ladies tea. They realize they have both made plans to be christened Ernest that afternoon. ACT III Summary This Act opens with the women in the Manor House carefully observing the men. When the men enter the house, the women demand to know why they have fabricated their Ernest identities. The men say it was only to see them. Gwendolen and Cecily are delighted by this, but still disturbed by the predicament of their Christian names, which remain John and Algernon. The men tell them that they have arranged to be christened later that day. Gwendolen and Cecily gush over how much more self-sacrificing men are. Lady Bracknell enters; she has received the address from Gwendolens maid. She sees Gwendolen and Jack together and asks in horror what it means. Gwendolen tells her mother that she is marrying Jack. Lady Bracknell protests. She asks Algernon, still unsure of where she is, if this is the home of Bunbury. Algernon informs her that Bunbury has died. He then introduces her to Cecily, to whom he tells his aunt he is engaged. Lady Bracknell is leery of the engagement until she realized Cecily is wealthy. Jack, however is still angered about his own problematic engagement, and tells her that as guardian he will not consent to Cecilys engagement unless she allows Gwendolen to marry him. Because he is Cecilys guardian until she is thirty-five, she will have to wait a very long time to marry Algernon (she is only eight-teen presently). Lady Bracknell refuses to consent. Dr. Chasuble arrives for the christenings. Lady Bracknell is appalled by the idea of Algernon being christened. Jack tells Dr. Chasuble that the christenings are no longer needed. When Dr. Chasuble says that he will return to Miss Prism, Lady Bracknell inquires about her, and upon realizing that Miss Prism is whom she suspects her to be, insists on seeing her. When Miss Prism arrives she also recognizes Lady Bracknell. Lady Bracknell accuses her of taking a baby, twenty-eight years ago. It turns out that Miss Prism was in charge of Lady Bracknells sisters baby (Algernons mother, Mrs. Moncrieff), whom she lost. Miss Prism confesses that she accidentally placed the baby in her hand-bag and her novel in the perambulator. She left the bag in Victoria Station. Upon hearing this, Jack retrieves the hand-bag in which he was found. It is the same bag. Jack is Algernons older brother. The final issue is that of Jacks Christian name. He naturally would have been named after his father, since he is the eldest son. However, no one can remember the Generals Christian name. Jack happens to have The Army Lists of the last forty years. Amazingly, they discover that Jacks real name is (as his fathers was) Ernest John Worthing. Everyone is delighted. John can now marry Gwendolen and he gives consent for Algernon to marry Cecily. Chasuble and Miss Prism call one another by their first names and embrace. John realizes that, despite his efforts, his whole life has been truthful; he now knows the Vital Importance of Being Earnest. Notes This final Act serves a surprising, unlikely, and humorous resolution. Continuing in its satirical fashion-the men are easily forgiven, Lady Bracknell surprises everyone and refuses to allow the marriage, an unexpected twist occurs in which we find out that Ernest is really whom he thought he was, and the day is saved. The women in this play forgive the men as easily as they accept their marriage proposals. The Lady Bracknell twist demonstrates Wildes poking fun at the aristocracy. To them money is what counts, and marriage is a financial agreement. When Lady Bracknell discovers Jacks true identity, all is resolved and he is allowed to marry Gwendolen. The final line by Jack, Ive finally realized for the first time in my life, the vital Importance of Being Earnest, is an excellent closing line for the play because it encompasses all of the irony with which this plot is laden.

THEMES - THEME ANALYSIS The major theme of this play is the satire of the upper classes. This is a particularly appropriate theme for Wilde to choose because of his experience among upper class people. Wildes leisurely setting-the country, where almost no action takes place-is a perfect backdrop, because it insinuates that the wealthy do nothing with their time. He characterization is also clever. None of the upper class characters have any real depth, which suggests a onedimensional nature. They are trivial, and shallow as well. An example of this can be found in the interaction between Gwendolen and Cecily, who immediately profess their admiration for one another and then, suddenly, turn on each other when they are at odds over Ernest. The only characters that can be seen working are Lane, Merriman, and Ms. Prism, who are not of the upper class. To further this theme, Wilde incorporates many mini-themes, such as the absurdity of social life, the triviality of the wealthy, the importance of money, and the lack of reverence for marriage. The primary purpose of these themes is to provoke laughter from the audience. They can do so because they are testing the social values of their time. Wilde is able to satirize the upper classes by placing this play in an upper class social arena. Next he fills the characters language with epigrams, which make them seem ridiculous. Because they characters constantly contradict what basic values in their speech, or do not base their statements on any logic at all-they lose credibility as real-life, believable people. This works to Wildes advantage because, despite what he may or may not think about the upper class, he wants his play to be funny and not overly offensive; they are, after all, the patrons of his show. Finally, Wilde makes the major issue of the play marriage. Marriage is an excellent way to poke fun at the aristocracy for two reasons. First, it is a traditionally sacred ceremony; second, he can highlight the importance of wealth and status among the upper classes, which often view marriage as a financial contract. OVERALL ANALYSIS CHARACTER ANALYSIS The Main character and protagonist of this play is John Worthing (known as Jack in the city). He is the main character because he responsible to the major plot developments; most action revolves around him: the conflict is his; the main setting of the play occurs at his home; the plot becomes complicated when his pursuits are jeopardized, and the plot is not finally resolved until his interests are settled. He is a man of mysterious background: he was found at Victoria Station as an infant, in a hand-bag. He now cares for the grand-daughter of his deceased patron. To escape the monotony of country life, and to have fun and be himself, he creates a fictitious brother, Ernest. who is always getting into trouble. Therefore, he is able to go to the city whenever he likes. In the city, he is known as Ernest. This becomes complicated when he falls in love with Gwendolen, whom he cannot marry because her aristocratic mother does not approve of his background. Furthermore, she could not love him if his name were anything but Ernest.

When Gwendolen appears at his country house, Jack is discovered as a phony. However, he is forgiven and taken back by Gwendolen. At the end of the play he discovers that he is who he was pretending to be all along. He was misplaced at Victoria Station by Miss Prism (now the governess of his ward) when he was a baby. He is really a man named Ernest, and really is the brother of Algernon. He and Gwendolen are allowed to marry.

PLOT STRUCTURE ANALYSIS As mentioned in the Literary / Historical Information section, the 1890s saw a change in Victorian Literature, and can be debatably called the beginning of modernism. Writers like Oscar Wilde or Bernard Shaw are concerned less with reaffirming the audience's cherished values, as they are with offering shocking ideas, which cause people to question their basic values. Similar to Mrs. Warrens Profession, in which Shaw allows Mrs. Warren to be a successful brothel keeper with no bad consequences, Wilde allows for a ridiculous four-some, who do not value marriage for what it is meant to be, and truly, do not value what the are supposed to value-to end happily. Wilde was a proponent of the Aesthetic movement, which celebrated art for arts sake. This movement, while it did not affect poetry in quite the same way, revitalized drama and novels of the late 19th century. This philosophy tended to keep art from preaching about political issues, and serve to entertain and celebrate beauty. Therefore, when analyzing The Importance of Being Ernest, one must consider it is a piece of entertainment, which did in fact delight its contemporary audiences. Wilde is not seeking to convey a deep, complex message. Its value stems from the source of its humor-its absurdities, and its criticisms. Elements of this play were comical to its audience for a reason; these reasons can tell us much about the world of 1890s England. The exposition of the play, Act I, introduces the main character, John Worthing-Ernest and presents the major conflict: he wants to marry aristocratic Gwendolen but her mother does not approve. Furthermore, she loves him because of his name. Here is the first example of irony. Jack is not really an earnest man, thought he calls himself Ernest, and Gwendolen does not really want to marry an earnest man, but a man earnest is name only. The rising action of the plot occurs throughout Act II, and is the longest part of the plot. During the rising action Algernon complicates the conflict because he arrives at Jacks country house and calls himself Ernest. This is an impediment because, soon, Gwendolen arrives, and because Algernon has proposed to Cecily as Ernest, Gwendolen is bound to-first, not want to marry Jack because of his duplicity, and second, find out that his name is really not Ernest. The climactic moment is when the women confront the men about what they have discovered by talking-they can not both be Ernest Worthing. The men confess and the women retreat The women easily forgive the men and the denouement arises with a surprise ending. The ending can be referred to as Deus ex Machina(God from machine), which is a highly improbable ending. The chance of Jack really being whom he pretended all along, not to mention Algernons brother, not to mention Lady Bracknell and Miss Prism meeting on this fortuitous occasion-are all unlikely occurrences. Also in the resolution, is an excellent example of the understatement, which occurs throughout. To Miss Prism, it does not seem to be a grave occurrence that she switched a baby and her novel, losing both priceless items. This play is equipped with many, many epithets-paradoxical, witty phrases. These phrases serve to add to the comedy value of the play. An example if one of these phrases is when Cecily says to Algernon: Well, I know, of course, how important it is not to keep a business engagement. (Act II). This is humorous, because to Victorians-as well as to ourselves-it is important to keep business engagements. Yet, this statement is not amusing to the characters in the play. The CloudsStrepsiades, the father of spend-thrift Pheidippides, cannot sleep because he is worried about the debts that he has incurred because of Pheidippides's expensive passion for racehorses. Strepsiades calls in a Slave to bring him his accounts so that he may tabulate his debts. Looking over his debts, he becomes enraged and his voice wakes Pheidippides. Strepsiades begs Pheidippides to refrain from his expensive ways and begs him to enroll in the new-fangled school next door wherein he may learn about esoteric natural sciences as well as sophistry that might help him outwit their creditors in court. Pheidippides stubbornly refuses, leaving Strepsiades to enroll himself.Strepsiades arrives at the school and meets a Student who tells Strepsiades about Socrates's new experiments involving insects and astronomy. The Student shows Strepsiades the other Students of the school, bent over in their studies so that they may study geology with their faces and astronomy with their behinds. While the Student is showing Strepsiades their maps, Socrates appears in a balloon-basket hanging in mid-air. Socrates explains that the contraption helps him "suspend" (I.i.230) his judgment and open his mind to new ideas. Strepsiades explains his plight and asks for guidance. Socrates enlightens Strepsiades, proving to him that the gods do not exist and that the weather patterns are produced by a Chorus of Clouds. Socrates fleeces Strepsiades of his coat and hustles him inside.In Strepsiades's absence, the Chorus of Clouds sings a song in defense of the play, berating the audience for not rewarding it when it was first produced. The Chorus praises the moral intent of the playwright and the important examples his satire teaches in troubled times.Socrates and Strepsiades reemerge and discuss the gender of nouns. Socrates puts Strepsiades in a louse-ridden bed to contemplate. After much agony, Strepsiades shares his ludicrous theories for how to win his court case. Socrates despairs and calls him a worthless pupil. The Chorus of Clouds convinces Strepsiades to enroll his son instead.Strepsiades runs home and quizzes Pheidippides with his newly acquired sophistry. He drags Pheidippides to the school where the two Arguments, Just and Unjust, argue over the proper model for boys' education. Just suggests a model of education based on traditional poetry and physical fitness, but his descriptions falter when his libido overwhelms him. Unjust unravels Just's argument with examples drawn from myth and other trivia. Just is thoroughly flustered and Unjust is granted Pheidippides as a pupil. The Chorus of Clouds intimates that Strepsiades's forcible education of Pheidippides will be his own undoing before turning to the audience, wheedling, bribing, and even threatening them for their approval of the play.Strepsiades's day in court draws near and he goes to pick Pheidippides up at the school. Socrates promises that Pheidippides is well-versed in their special brand of specious learning which Pheidippides soon demonstrates when he attacks the idiom the day of "Old and New" as an instance of hysterical paradox. While Strepsiades is gloating that his son is a splendid example of Unjust Argument, he is visited by two creditors. The First Creditor demands that Strepsiades appear before the court. Strepsiades quizzes him about the gender of nouns and refuses to pay his debt on the basis of the First Creditor's apparent ignorance. The Second Creditor appears woefully wringing his hands and begging Strepsiades. Strepsiades berates him for his belief in the gods and uses the Unjust Argument to deny responsibility for any interest on his debt. He flogs the Second Creditor until he runs off. The Chorus sings a song warning that Strepsiades's "evil" (II.i.1303) will soon come back to him.

Sure enough, as their song winds down, Strepsiades bursts from the house while being beaten by Pheidippides. The two have been quarreling over the recitation of traditional poetry. Pheidippides defends his beatings using sophistry. Strepsiades mourns that he has exchanged Pheidippides's obsession with expensive horses for his obsession with sophistry and rhetoric, which is proving to also have its price. Strepsiades blames the Chorus of Clouds for misleading him and they defend themselves by asserting that their deception taught Strepsiades a lesson. Strepsiades concedes that he has been wrong but still hungers to do violence against Socrates and the school. He summons his slave Xanthias and the two run over to the school and set fire to the roof. Chaerephon and a Second Student cry out from within as the building burns and finally rush outside. Strepsiades crows his "Revenge" (II.i.1506) and chases off the last of the Students by throwing rocks. The Chorus appraises the scene and takes its leave.Character ListStrepsiades- An Athenian citizen and harried father, burdened by the debts his son, Pheidippides, has incurred. Strepsiades is the "hero" of the play, but he is not very heroic. He is concerned instead with pursuing his dishonest aim: shirking his debts instead of taking responsibility for them. Therefore, Strepsiades is more of an "anti-hero." He does not have the subtle, esoteric mind that it takes to succeed at the school, but rather frustrates Socrates and the other Students at the school with his stubbornness, his violence, and his limited, literal mind. He is a pragmatist, not a philosopher, and as such he is rooted in the physical world, happiest delivering a sound beating or masturbating. Because of his bumbling, brutish physicality, he is a fitting foil to Socrates's pure intellectualism. Pheidippides- The spend-thrift and arrogant son of Strepsiades. He has adopted the aristocratic posturing of his mother and Uncle Megacles and demonstrates a passion for horses as well as a passion for esoteric knowledge. He is cocky and smug and proves a receptive pupil for the subtle rhetoric taught by Socrates. He is fascinated by himselfat first, his own material needs and finally his own whirling dervish of an intellectand his egotism makes him cruel and ruthless. Socrates- The master-sophist at the infamous school. Socrates is a spokesman for the "new education" of rhetoric, atheism, science, and sophistry. He represents the heights of esoteric knowledgeso removed from the reality of everyday life in Athens as to appear floating! In contrast to the brutish physicality of Strepsiades, Socrates represents pure, rarified intellect at its most ethereal and impractical. However, Socrates is not "above" human emotions such as anger and impatience, especially when plagued with such a buffoonish student as Strepsiades. The Chorus of Clouds - The personified quasi-divinities who bring rain and thunder. The Chorus of Clouds acts as a core voice in the play, explaining certain motives and egging on the action. At times, they act as prophets, foreshadowing actions and obstacles to come. The Chorus of Clouds can interact directly with the audience and thus may seem to be removed from the action of the scene, much like the gods the chorus is supposed to be replacing. The chorus' prescience and sense of resolve makes its members obvious candidates for divinity; with their singing and dancing en masse they lend the necessary air of ritual and spirituality. Also, because the Chorus members speak directly to the audience about the play and about playwriting itself, they become mouthpieces for Aristophanes himself. Unjust Argument- A personified school of thought. Unjust Argument is Just Argument's necessary foil. Like Socrates, Unjust Argument represents all that is wrong with sophistry and the "new education"the specious moral content masked by slippery, well-wrought persuasion and rhetoric. Like Pheidippides, Unjust Argument is smug and disdainful of tradition. He has a facile mind, if not necessarily an upright set of values. Just Argument- A personified school of thought. Just Argument is Unjust Argument's necessary foil. He, like Strepsiades, represents the "old" or "traditional" system of education, one that stressed obedience, reverence for one's elders, values indoctrinated in martial poetry such as Homer, and physical fitness. However, like Strepsiades, Just Argument's overdeveloped sense of the physical will be his undoing: his own over-zealous sexual appetite undermines the moral content in his argument, making him into a foolish pederast and not a wise pedagogue. Student- A disciple at Socrates's school who shows Strepsiades the ropes with characteristic verbal flair and an air of secrecy worthy of the Free-Masons. The Student takes great, albeit serious, delight in the minutiae of Socrates's scientific investigations. He is, however, defensive of his school when Strepsiades drops by and he acts defensively, even a bit neurotically, in order to maintain the order and sanctity of their proceedings. First Creditor- An angry Athenian to whom Strepsiades owes money. He comes to demand Strepsiades's appearance in court and acts with great brashness and surety. He pays great attention to detail and procedureattention that he demonstrates in bringing a witness with him when he pays his call. He is not overjoyed to be prosecuting Strepsiades, but acts with good energy and organization in preparing his case. Second Creditor- A mopey Athenian to whom Strepsiades owes money. He is a morose, weepy figure, prone to swearing great, pathetic oaths to the gods. A comical figure of pathos. A great Greek Eeyore (of Winnie the Pooh fame). Xanthias- A household slave to Strepsiades. He is obedient, but will stand up for himself when challenged. Chaerephon- A philosopher-sophist from Socrates's school. Renowned for his paleness and his esoteric intellect, he is also whiny and helpless. Students - Pupils of Socrates and Chaerephon. Blind adherents to esoteric knowledge. Moony, silent, pale types without physical vigor. Character AnalysisStrepsiadesStrepsiades is the anti-hero of Aristophanes's play. He is an older Athenian citizen and a farmer. He married a well-to-do girl with aristocratic pretensions and has a son, Pheidippides, who has inherited the young woman's rarified tastes and has begun running Strepsiades into the ground with debts to finance his stables of expensive horses. Strepsiades is fundamentally dishonest: the action of the play occurs, in fact, because Strepsiades does not wish to pay the money that he owes his creditors. This dishonesty is no mere whim, but it sees Strepsiades through many a painful trial in its pursuitbe it the loss of his coat or the confinement to a flea-ridden bed. A plucky, stubborn fellow, Strepsiades does not loose his resolve once: not when trying to convince his smug son, nor when trying to wrap his stumped brain around some of the school's teachings, not even when Socrates rejects him as a hopeless failure. In this sense, sad Strepsiades represents the Athenian tenacity, especially when one considers that Aristophanes was composing his plays during the interminable Peloponnesian War when Athens and Sparta were at war for decades on end.ThemesReconciling Science and ReligionThe Clouds is a play primarily concerned with education. Nevertheless, it is a play with a strong moral message and a tragic arc that ends with the reassertion of the gods: Strepsiades shrieks, "Revenge for the injured gods!" as he stones the fleeing sophists (II.i.1506). This religious reassertion is especially intriguing because The Clouds is not a particularly pious play. It is doubtful that even underneath the many layers of satire and gross physical humordown to where the play's undeniable moral center sitswe will locate a religious or even broadly spiritual motive or lesson. Rather, Aristophanes's comedy seems to be preaching honesty and responsibility: basic secular, or civic, virtues. Nonetheless, Aristophanes leaves his audience with religion. Why?In the fifth century BCE, around the time when Aristophanes wrote The Clouds, the first stirrings of what today would be considered "scientific theory" were being felt. Anaxagoras, for instance, considered the sun, moon, and stars to be the fiery objects that humans more or less understand them to be todayunseating the prevailing religious notion that the sun, moon, and stars were gods or divine beings. However, atheism was a prosecutable offense in fifth-century Athens, a charge akin to treason. How, therefore, could these new scientific hypotheses be granted the imaginative and theoretical space of consideration when the prevailing religious milieu considered them treasonous, or heresy?The strangeness of Aristophanes's turn to the gods suggests the awkwardness of this period in intellectual history. His defense or reassertion of the Gods is satirical: a critical examination of the Athenian's illogical, unwavering adherence to their gods. Divine sanctity guards not only divine beings but also the study and criticism of the divine. Aristophanes is suggesting, by considering science with religion in this play, that the two often-conflicting concepts must be equally open to inquiry, to criticism, and even to satire.The Quest for Proper EducationAs mentioned above, The Clouds is a satire that is primarily concerned with education. (In fact, its full title reads: The Clouds, or The School for Sophists.) Aristophanes employs the "Thinkery" (I.i.93) because it represents comically and exactly what he believes a school should not be: dishonest, overly serious, and entirely divorced from the practices and concerns of the real world. Aristophanes is fundamentally a conservative thinker. Fittingly, satire is a conservative form: a comedic genre that draws its punch from hysterical deviations from an agreed-upon and socially condoned standard of values and behavior. Aristophanes would most probably side with Just Argument who, in spite of his lustful distractions, prescribes an educational system based on careful study of classical literature supplemented with a good dose of physical fitness. (Undoubtedly, this is the kind of education that Aristophanes himself enjoyed, although the specifics of biographical detail are unavailable to us.) Just Argument's educational model was respected and well-rounded: both mind and body were exercised to their fullest potential in order to provide a holistic experience.Aristophanes, however, is never one to settle for less. There are problems with this traditional model and he knows it. This is why he paints Just Argument as a pedophile and why he allows Just Argument to utter such vacuous statements as "Be ashamed when you ought to be ashamed," (I.ii.1013). This last example demonstrates precisely why Aristophanes feels that the traditional model of education needs to be satirized along with the new: Aristophanes believes in the importance of satire and criticism in Athenian society. He believes that decades, even centuries, of not questioning or challenging the authority of the older models have left them stagnant. The circular, vacuous statement above illustrates how, a traditional system left unexamined might lose sight of the convictions and values upon which it was founded.Educational PlaywritingAs mentioned above, Aristophanes is fundamentally a conservative thinker. Fittingly, satire is a conservative form: a comedic genre that draws its punch from hysterical deviations from an agreed-upon and socially condoned standard of values and behavior. Therefore, it is understandable when, in the "parabasis," the Chorus of Clouds digresses from the action of the play to address the audience about playwriting in general and about Aristophanes's career in particular that the Chorus uses the chance to defend Aristophanes's moral aims. Since education itself is the primary concern of this play in particular, the reminder of satire's educative purpose is twice as resonant. The Chorus argues that, without the good and bad examples gleaned from satire, how would the Athenian citizenship know right from wrong?

This "parabasis" serves as both a moral thesis in favor of playwriting as well as a carefully timed defense. Cleon, whom the Chorus of Clouds mentions, is the powerful Athenian politician who, a year or two prior to the original production of The Clouds had taken Aristophanes to court for slandering Athens in the presence of foreign dignitaries. Cleon's court case was in response to Aristophanes's festival-winning play The Babylonians which had been performed at the grand City Dionysia festival to which crowds flocked from far and wide. Aristophanes exploits the venuean educative satire on education itselfto explain his moral and educative aims and to make his benign intentions crystal clear.Reconciling Education with Daily LifeAs mentioned above, The Clouds is concerned with the question of a proper, moral education. Just Argument seems to offer an appealing curriculumwell-rounded and grounded in practical experience. However, lack of fresh insights have rendered Just Argument's traditions stale, vacuously circular, and out of touch with the current ideas. The alternative to Just Argument is Unjust Argument, and in particular Socrates's school for sophists and other slippery-thinkers. However, as Pheidippides disgustedly gasps early in the play, such sophist-masters and their followers are an unlikely lot: "stuck-up white-faced barefoot characters" (I.i.93) who are so removed from the real actions and transactions of everyday life and the world that they appear floating in a basket above it! Aristophanes dislikes Socrates and the sophists because they are dishonest: their Unjust Arguments are morally as vacuous as Just Argument's morally upright maxims are semantically empty. Also, as the conflicts between the pig-headed pragmatist Strepsiades and the ethereal, esoteric Socrates demonstrate, sophistic learning is necessarily separate from the world. Socrates, at one point, berates Strepsiades for his disinterest in the minutiae of sentence rhythms, but meanwhile all Strepsiades wants out of his education is to learn to keep his money. Aristophanes is a realist: he understands that moral messages are best digested within a comic coatinga fact that demonstrates the inescapability of the funny, grubby, popular world.MotifsOld and NewThe phrase "Old and New" is repeated throughout The Clouds in order to advance and emphasize the thematic issue of the proper educational system: old (meaning, traditional) or new (meaning sophistic). The day of "Old and New" is the Athenian term for the end of the month. Since months were calculated according to a lunar calendar, the end of the month occurred with each cycle of the moon: the last day of the "old" cycle of the moon and the first day of the "new" cycle of the moon. Debts were collected on this final day, the day of "Old and New," and it is Strepsiades's anxiety over this day of (financial) reckoning that leads him to the wild and crazy notion of learning sophistry in order to outwit his creditors in court.CurrencyCurrency, or money, is central to this play: the wealth discrepancy between Strepsiades and his wife makes his marriage uncomfortable and it is his debts that make his nights unbearable with worry. The notion of money suggests a legacy and the notion of a legacy or inheritance of money suggests familial relationships. Therefore, the idea of money and family are intertwined.Money and the notion of debt are also important to this play in terms of its tragic arc: in tragedy, the tragic hero "pays for" his tragic flaw by his suffering. Thus, in this play, Strepsiades receives back, at Pheidippides's pummeling hand, the bruises he has dealt out to slaves, students, and creditors, with added interest as well. The notion of "revenge" (II.i.1506) itself contains an awareness of finance: giving someone what is due. Aristophanes's tragi-comedy is driven by the question of "what is due" in particular: Strepsiades owes his creditors money, and when Strepsiades misbehaves by deciding not to pay this debt, he pays for his poor choice in other ways.The word "currency," in particular, carries with it a potent pun on the word "current." As mentioned above, much of this play is concerned with the question of how to digest much of the new or "current" informationbe it science, sophistry, or atheismthat was circulating in fifth-century Athens.Gendered NounsMuch of the humor in this play derives from Aristophanes's hysterical invention of specifically gendered nouns, such as "chicker," "chickeness," "trough," and "triffen," (I.ii.658). Not only does Strepsiades flaunt his newly enriched vocabulary to his son Pheidippides, but he also uses it as the basis of his abuse of his two creditors. The words that Aristophanes invents are delightfully droll and because of their novelty, they seem to us and to Strepsiades to represent the heights of chic. Why else would Strepsiades waste so much time and breath clucking over "chicken"?However, the words that Socrates teaches Strepsiades are precisely as banal as that: chicken, trough. He does not teach Strepsiades the proper names for potions, spells, or distant kings. Rather, he focuses on the trivial, boring vocabulary. Therefore, in spite of how delicate "triffen" may sound, the audience must realize that pigs eat from it! The disjunction between the prettiness and level of specialization between the invented word and its representative object creates great comedy. This disjunction also reemphasizes the key theme of the unfortunate disconnect between intellectualism and pragmatism, grand knowledge and the real world.SymbolsThe CloudsThe Chorus of Clouds are an intriguing group. As a chorus, they speak directly to the audience and act as Aristophanes's mouthpiece. As a chorus in a tragi-comedy, they represent the "nemesis," the rectifying, necessary evil that brings the tragic hero to due punishment: the prescience necessary to fulfill this particular plot function lends them an eerie air of superiority and distance, akin to gods. However, Socrates speaks of them in the most basic of terms as the pockets of water and energy that cause rain: dumb, fluffy meteorological phenomena that, at their best, inspire cloud-gazing hippies and, at their worst, do nothing more than lend thunder its ill-digested rumble. This latter definition is especially interesting when you consider that it is the Chorus of Clouds that gives the play its primary name. The Clouds lend the satire their name because they represent, to Athenian idiom, what we today would call "hot air": The Clouds are symbols of the intellectual fluff that Socrates is teaching his students. Clouds in the sky look big and substantial, but in fact they are mere clumps of thin vapora fact that the new scientific advances were beginning to appreciate. Likewise, Unjust Argument is full of pomp and intellectan imposing figure until you realize that his debates are mere snatches of important-sounding trivia that have no real, honest use.

Strepsiades is a practical man: he has a problemhe is in debtand he finds an existing solution for it in the theories and arguments taught at Socrates's school. In spite of the fact that he places his hopes on the slippery rhetoric and shady morals of the new sophistry and "new education," Strepsiades is a countryman and a traditionalist at heart. He wishes that his son Pheidippides were a farmer like him and his father before him. He gets into a fight with Pheidippides when Pheidippides disdains his request to recite some of the traditional poetry of Simonides, Aeschylus, and Euripides, works that made up the backbone of any traditional education.Strepsiades's practicality manifests itself in his hearty physicality. He is comfortable with his own body and all that it produces. His quickness to violence and his low physical humor suggest this ease in his own skin. Since Strepsiades is a comic anti-hero, his physicality necessarily means that he had no intellect to speak of: when placed by Socrates into the flea-ridden bed to philosophize, Strepsiades masturbates. Likewise, when Socrates speaks of the Chorus of Clouds as "in a whirl" (I.ii.361), Strepsiades thinks that he has discovered a new god called "Awhirl" (I.ii.814). His inability to process subtle (and not-so-subtle) intellectual details makes him a good foil for the pale, ethereal Socrates.As the play progresses, Strepsiades comes, like a tragic hero, to regret his actions. When he is being physically and verbally assaulted by Pheidippides, newly armed with his fancy sophistic education, Strepsiades bemoans his earlier rashness in considering the "new education" the solution. However "just" he considers the Chorus of Clouds's verdict to be, he still persists in burning down the school and calling it "revenge" (II.i.1506). Therefore, his admission is a half-hearted acceptance of his own accountability at best.