Aristophanes

Aristophanes (Critical Survey of Drama)

Other Literary Forms

Aristophanes is remembered only for his plays.

Achievements

Because the plays of his contemporaries and rivals have all been lost, it is impossible to credit Aristophanes with specific innovations in the development of Greek comedy. In his eleven surviving plays, however, one can trace an evolution in his own work. Although this evolution corresponds to a broader trend (the movement from Old Comedy to Middle and New Comedy), which in turn was influenced by changes in political and social conditions, Aristophanes’ own development as an...

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