Publisher's Synopsis
Clouds is a comedic play written by the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. The play follows the character Strepsiades, a poor farmer who is deeply in debt and seeks the help of Socrates and his school, the Thinkery, to teach him how to argue his way out of paying his debts. However, as Strepsiades becomes more involved with the Thinkery, he realizes that the teachings of Socrates and his followers are not as helpful as he had hoped. The play satirizes the philosophical ideas of Socrates and his followers, as well as the Athenian society of the time. The Clouds were a symbol of the intellectualism that Aristophanes was criticizing, and the play is often seen as a commentary on the dangers of sophistry and the importance of practical knowledge. Clouds is one of Aristophanes' most famous works and is still performed and studied today.1892. Aristophanes was a Greek comic playwright. A brilliant satirist, he used the freedom of Old Comedy to ridicule public figures, institutions, and even the gods. In Clouds, the plot of the comedy, like most of those of Aristophanes, is very simple. A man belonging to the once sound and uncorrupted core of the people, a countryman, who has suffered material and moral ruin through the evils common to the times, though not yet himself attacked by the poison of the new culture, is led by adverse circumstances to embrace it. He has been wealthy, and could have enjoyed his property in peace and quiet, but weakness and want of character have involved him in a series of misfortunes. External influence, perhaps also the desire to raise himself above his rank, has induced him to marry a noble, but mistrained girl of a proud family. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.