Cliffsnotes Aristophanes' Lysistrata & Other Comedies

This Cliffs Notes volume looks at four comedies by Aristophanes, but begins by looking at the three great Greek writers of tragedy, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, in order to put the work of the comic playwright in appropriate context. "Lysistrata," the celebrated anti-war play, is covered by providing a List of Characters, followed by Summaries and Commentaries on each scene of the play. However, the other three plays by Aristophanes are covered without breaking the plays into discrete units (although the authors do discuss the specific structure of Greek plays in their analysis of "The Birds"). For two of the plays, "The Birds" and "The Frogs," there are specific points of analysis signposted in the commentary section, but for the most part this little yellow book with the black stripes deals with these plays comprehensively. Those who like to find specific sections dealing with particular literary elements will find this volume to be a little less user-friendly. As always, the analysis is first rate, especially if you have read the plays are therefore able to absorb the additional insights.