35 pages • 1 hour read

The Frogs

Fiction | Play | Adult

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Scene Summaries & Analyses

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Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Character Analysis

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Discussion Questions

Essay Topics

When Herakles questions why Dionysos wishes to travel to Hades, Dionysos replies, “I need a skillful poet” (175). What does he need the poet to do, and to what extent is his quest fulfilled and not fulfilled?

Why do you think Aristophanes stages the competition between Aischylos and Euripides as opposed to Aischylos and Sophokles or Sophokles and Euripides? Discuss using at least three specific references to each playwright from the text.

Dionysos describes a poet with a “fertile” mind being “able to voice great noble expressions” (177). To what extent do Aischylos and Euripides meet these criteria? To what extend does Aristophanes?

What is the function of humor in the context of the sacred festivals in which Frogs would have been staged?

Discuss the substance of Aischylos and Euripides’ arguments during the contest.

Does Aristophanes believe Athens can be saved? Defend your answer using at least four specific examples from the play.

Frogs is a play about a competition between playwrights that was performed in the context of a theatric competition. Discuss the significance of this on the play’s theme of boundary crossing.

What does Frogs suggest about the role of theater and poets in Athenian democracy?

Consider the role of Xanthias in the play. What might he signify to the Athenians in the audience?

10.

Discuss the symbolic significance of the scales Dionysos uses to weigh Aischylos and Euripides’ words. Do you agree Aischylos is the rightful winner?