In six pages the playwright's successful and timeless use of humor in The Poet and the Women is discussed. Four sources are cited in the bibliography.
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Women" (Greek name, "Thesmophoriazusae") shows that a case can be made that Aristophanes easily ranks among the greatest comedians of all time. Much of the comedy in this play is
broad, with sexual innuendo to rival any burlesque skit. But, also, there is a great deal in the play that is also sophisticated, as Aristophanes expertly parodies the tragedies of
Euripides, which are plays that his audience knew very well. As this suggests, Aristophanes uses various forms of humor in this play and does so extremely well. The
play opens with Euripides and an elderly relation by marriage, Mnesilochus, walking briskly, looking for a specific house, the home of Agathon, a fellow playwright. Aristophanes sets the tone
of his play with the banter that goes on between Euripides and Mnesilochus, who wants nothing more then a chance to sit down. Euripides is obviously quite concerned about something.
They find the home and observe as a servant comes out and announces that his master is about to write a new drama. The servant is long-winded, piling metaphor
on metaphor -- "...he roleth it till it be round; it castteth it -- " and at this point, Mnesilochus chimes in, "And stuffeth it up his fanny" (Aristophanes, 1964,
p. 102). As this indicates, Mnesilochus humor is low-brow, earthy and very funny. The crux of the plot soon comes out as Euripides explains why he is so worried. The
women of Athens are attending the festival of Thesmophoria, a religious rite that only women may attend (Anonymous, 2002). However, somehow, Euripides has learned that they plot against him and
mean to take his life because of his well-known misogyny, which he has expressed repeatedly in his plays. On learning of the womens accusations that Euripides slanders them in his