Lysistrata Unbound Fits as a Prequel to Aristophanes Lysistrata - Essay Example

21 February Lysistrata Unbound Fits as a Prequel to Aristophanes Lysistrata Introduction The play Lysistrata unbound by Aristophanes set the tone for the understanding of the plight of women during war times. The play centers on the role of the Greek women in finding a lasting end to the Peloponnesian war. With Lysistrata leading the group of the Greek women, she organized a forum where all the Greek women would converge to proffer possible solutions that would restore peace and end the long raging war. Her plan was to use the sex drive of the women to force their husbands into a treaty that would put an end to the war. She tries to achieve this by asking the Greek women to deny their husbands of sex until an agreement had been reached to ceasefire (Aristophanes 26). She had an arrangement with the elderly women in Athens to capture Akropolis, which serve as the central point of both the Athenians and the Spartans. The essence of the plan by Lysistrata was just to point out the negative effects of war on the women, as they seem to be more concerned about the welfare of the society. As the play progresses, the chorus of both the old men and women were involved in a confrontation and the women were victorious. In the course of the confrontation, the men made some remarks that seem derogatory and portraying the female race as a gender of no societal value, aside from their domestic functions as wives and mothers at home. This when compared to the ancient Greek society could create some kind of semblance in the way women are being treated as slaves and object of sex (Aristophanes 33). The crux of the women’s argument is the fact that they want to be recognized as an important element in the Greek society. They realize the impact of their hard work in the society and would not want the selfish interest of the men, whose quest for self glorification undermine the interest of the society at large. Lysistrata unbound by Machado Machado represents one of the modern adaptations of the original play by Aristophanes. The focus of the play by Machado was centered on a matron that was transformed by the current war situation tearing apart the family structure in the society. The play exonerates the will power of women as opposed to the notion presented in the Aristophanes’ original conception of male dominance. Machado added a feminist angle to the play, which serves as a basis for the differences from the original plot. The answer to question two The use of chorus in the play, Lysistrata unbound helps in the translation of the play to the audience in a clear and explicit manner. Most Greek plays possess an element of dance and chorus which is more visible by the audience, but the difference with Lysistrata unbound is the way the chorus was employed as a unifying element that joins the dialogue between the women and older men. In the modern adaptation of the play, the chorus was employed as an element that helps interpret the tension and respite in the play. For example, the conversation between the chorus of old women and chorus of old men reflected the tension and respite that accompanied the act in the play. Thus, at some point, it functions as a sort of comic relief, which takes away the shine off the tensed atmosphere caused by the confrontation. While in the original play, the use of chorus signifies the rich Greek culture employed deliberately by Aristophanes to create an avenue where there would be an opportunity for both parties to confront each other. Without the chorus, there possibly could not have been any other avenue for the confrontation to take place. It would be quite irrational for the women to have taken arms against the Greek male whose main occupation is to execute warfare. A careful analysis of the chorus would point out the intention of Aristophanes in employing chorus as a dramatic element. In the course of the chorus, the women saw an avenue in which they could express their desires and anger at the male folks while the chorus of old men seek the opportunity to hit back at the women and in the process ease themselves off the tension of the war (Aristophanes 32). Chorus as a dramatic element was used to advance the narrative in Machado’s version of the Lysistrata as an element of comic relief. The element of chorus follows a sequential line in the sense that, when the conversation seems to be fierce, the lines would portray a highly tensed atmosphere, which is relayed to the audience that the confrontation seems to be at its peak. Later in the play, it was used to ease the tension and signals the end of the war between the warring nations. While in the original version by Aristophanes, the element of the chorus was employed to create an atmosphere that would allow for the transitioning between the various events in the play. The answer to question three The plot of the play centers on a classic Greek culture that emphasize the supremacy of the male gender over the female. The play upholds the strong belief in the ancient gods of the old Greek society. Their belief in gods remains an integral part of the play, reflecting the cognizance attached to the presence of gods in their lives. This was reflected in the way Lysistrata employed the gods while trying to convince the women of the Athenian and Spartan society to yield to her order in the form of taking an oath before the gods of the land. Another culture that was peculiar to the ancient Greek society is the zest for supremacy amongst the Greek communities. The zest for supremacy has been the basis for the war between the Spartans and Athens. Aside from the focus on the hostility between the Spartans and the Athenians, the playwright relishes the way women and children are enslaved in the ancient Greek society. Most especially during times of war, they have to keep servicing the family and the same time service the military in the form of sexual entertainment. Children are abused and deprived of their rights. To cap it all, the playwright simply explains the rate of women slavery in the Greek society. Relating the events in the play to the modern American society, the events of the several wars embarked by the American government exposes the women in the society to several hardships. Many families were separated because of the engagement of the husband, son, or father. Many women are now widows because of the war in Iraq, and Afghanistan. Therefore, the American society at that point was a society heading for destruction. The play also reflected the shift in the art of womens participation in political affairs. The action of Lysistrata in the play could be regarded more as a timely political intervention that proffered a lasting solution to the war between Sparta and Athens. In the American society, several womens liberation movements had emerged to engage American women in partisan politics. Significantly, the role played by the American women at the end of the Iraqi and Afghan war could be likened to the role played by matron in the play Lysistrata. In addition, American women now have a role reversal in the sense that most women in the society now work and fend for their families. The use of the Greek culture was made manifest in the narrative style employed by the playwright. The narrative style used was an elaborate dialogue mechanism that allowed the characters take the personality they are portraying in the play. The unconventional confrontation between the chorus of old women and the chorus of old men, the exchange of dialogue, and the vibrancy in the utterance of the women under the leadership of Lysistrata (Aristophanes 1). Analyzing the dialogue of the chorus of old men, one would realize the over confident nature of the masculine dominance over the women. In ancient Greek society, women are treated with less value attached to their existence. This is because of the disparity in the income level and the social stratification that relegates the female folks to household management. The aim of Machado in the play, Lysistrata unbound is to create a society, that the female gender would be at par with their male counterparts. A society where women would be able to be actively participating in the political decision making process. A society where there would be an institutional change of roles of women in the society. The playwright tried to inject the modern trend of feminism and women emancipation into the play by managing the gathering of women in the introductory scenes of the play to deliberate on the ways of having an anti-war movement to end the war situations in their society (Machado 23). Though the idea of a female leader being respected in the ancient Greek society might seem fictional, it does portray that women could contribute to societal development, if they are given the chance. Lysistrata in the play exemplified this, it earned her the respect, and honor a woman deserves in the society. Works Cited Aristophanes. Lysistrata. Kansas: Digireads.com Publishing, 2005. Print. Machado, Eduardo. Lysistrata Unbound. www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7700/pg7700.txt. Accessed on 21 February 2013. Read More