Introduction
Aristophanes (c.450-c.388 BC) was an ancient Athenian playwright whose plays remain the extant of Attic Old Comedy. He wrote during the Golden Age of Athens (c. 5th Century BC) and survived the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) and the Oligarchic Coup (411 BC) among other events that shaped the social and political messages behind his plays. Regarded by many as the Father of Comedy, Aristophanes used a range of humor devices in his plays the Wasps (422 BC), the Frogs(405 BC) to provide socio-political satire, literary criticism and entertainment. He reflected the meaning of Athenian identity and citizenship, as well as the decline of the Golden Age toward the end of the 4th century BC.
His comedic plays have significantly influenced comedy throughout time. Aristophanes’ influence is clear during the Elizabethan era (1558-1603) and the Stuart period (1603-1714) in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Aristophanes has also indirectly influenced modern comedy in Pendleton Ward’s Adventure Time(2010), an animated television series. Across these texts, humour devices have been a key method to command the audience’s attention and to communicate similar messages through social and political commentary.