Lysistrata

 Lysistrata caught me off guard. From the title and the general plot synopsis that my roommate gave me when I mentioned that we were going to be reading this play, I figured I was in for a more serious tale about men and women’s relationships in ancient Greece, especially exploring the power dynamics at play when women take control of their own bodies in a time when that was not accepted. Instead, I was greeted with a vulgar, comedic tale that did not really take any of those issues that seriously. 

In general, I enjoyed Lysistrata. It took me off guard with its vulgarity, but it made for a very unique reading experience. Most of the jokes landed for me, even if I thought some were a little gross. My favorite jokes were those that felt like they came specifically from the translation to modern speech. One joke late in the play questioned why the characters were referring to Hercules as Hercules. Since they are Greek, they should have been calling him Heracles. The anachronistic jokes like this one and the 2007 beauty pageant reference we discussed in class on Wednesday gave the play a unique sense of humor that I really enjoyed. I wonder what a translation that hued closer to the original would have been like. I think without those smaller anachronistic jokes, I would have become a bit bored with the sexual humor. 

I do wish that the play took its own conflict a bit more seriously. The power dynamic between men and women in Ancient Greece is different from how it is today, but of course, has some unfortunate similarities. I wonder if a woman had written a play with the same basic premise as Lysistrata if it would have taken the issues it raises seriously. I would love to read an adaptation of this play that kept its unique comedic charm but took a more feminist approach to its overall narrative.

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