Analysis of "The Clouds" by Aristophanes Essay Example

The Clouds is a play set in Ancient Greece written by Aristophanes. Despite having only three major characters, and few background characters, it is able to paint a vivid picture of the world and catch the reader’s eye. The play begins in the house of Strepsiades, where he and Pheidippides are sleeping. Strepsiades contemplates what to do, and snaps when his lazy song Pheidippides farts while drooling in his sleep. This leads Strepsiades to send Pheidippides to the Thinkery. However, Pheidippides being the lazy son of a gun he is, refuses, and eventually Strepsiades goes himself. However, he is unable to remember any of the lessons taught by Socrates, and is kicked out of the Thinkery. With the debt collector chasing his tail, Strepsiades sends his son to the Thinkery in hope that he will be able to use his sharp tongue to fend off the debt collectors when he returns home. However, as with most comedies and tragedies, nothing goes as planned. 

There are four main reasons I enjoyed this play very much. While it was not only a play that was fun to read, I also learned quite a lot from it. I gained some understanding about the properties of the Greek language; how Athenians both despised, loved, and admired Socrates and his group of Sophists. I was able to see myself in the shoes of every character somehow, and relate to the lessons being taught, despite it being such an old play. 

As with most Aristophanes plays, this play was not only entertaining, but also showed many educational and eye-opening components. For example, the Greek language has feminine, masculine, and neuter nouns. Socrates brings up that despite being a feminine word, a watershed is called a “Basin,” and not a “Basinette,” which made me consider why older languages such as Greek and Latin (Spanish, French, Italian, etc. evolved from Latin) have grammatical genders, while English doesn’t. As a  bilingual reader, who speaks languages with no genders (English and Chinese), this was certainly really interesting to read about.

Aristophanes himself viewed Socrates as a negative part of Athenian society, contrary to modern belief, which portrays Socrates as this heroic philosophical martyr. Because of this, Aristophanes makes fun of Socrates, showing his dislike for Socrates’ arrogant and self-centered belief in his own teaching. As a person living in modern western society, this was a completely different perspective, and really made me contemplate if it is possible to ever get a clear cut understanding of history.

Another reason I loved this play so much is because of how it relates to the current day world. Despite its first performance being in 432 BCE, the lessons taught in this play can still be utilized in today’s world. In the play, Strepsiades is convinced by Socrates that the Greek Gods no longer exist, and that they have been overtaken by Vortex and The Clouds. At the time, this was quite sacrilegious, and yet Strepsiades is still convinced by Socrates. I think this is a good reminder that the world is surrounded by fake news and untrustworthy sources, and that it is up to only oneself to determine what is fact and what is fraud. As Strepsiades eventually does realize this, his regret piles up, and he eventually screams “Revenge for the injured gods!” 

As funny as it might sound, I found every major character in the play relatable. I can see parts of my childhood self in Pheidippides, always trying to ride high on the fun, and then growing up and becoming more serious, or in Pheidippides' case, entering the Thinkery. Looking back, perhaps I let that less stressful childhood go too early. I can also see myself as Strepsiades, always stressed and worried about something. While Strepsiades is worried about his debts, I’m worried about my future, grades, personal life, and many more things that teenagers have to constantly juggle. And lastly I can see myself as Socrates, always trying to be smart and perhaps a bit too arrogant sometimes. This feeling of familiarity and understanding with each character definitely made The Clouds more intriguing to read.

The last reason I enjoyed this play was because of the contrast between characters created by Aristophanes. Strepsiades, a stressed and debt-riven man, and his careless and carefree son Pheidippides. The two make for a great comedic duo that keeps the reader enthralled. 

I would definitely recommend this book to someone who is willing to read a slow grinding book that gradually unravels. However, I have a few criticisms for this play. The entire play was translated from Greek to English, so the words were somewhat simpler, and not as fancy as a novel originally written in English. Another criticism I have for The Clouds is that it simply doesn’t contain enough action. Many other plays, such as those written by Shakespeare exemplify much more movement and excitement, while this play is almost all dialogue. Nonetheless, this could be due to the fact that action filled plays became more popular as time passed, and Aristophanes had written his play during Classical Antiquity. Overall, I would give this play a full five stars, though it is heavily influenced by my personal interest in both Athenian literature and Athenian history.