The Frogs in the Frogs

Abstract

W. S. Gilbert's very model of a modern majorgeneral knew among other things the croaking chorus of the Frogs of Aristophanes, and their refrain is perhaps the most widely-quoted line in Greek literature. But the interpretation of the Frogs’ scene gives rise to debate, and there is no agreement on even basic questions: for example, were the Frogs visible in the theatre or did they croak unseen behind the skene? What is the nature of the competition between the Frogs and Dionysus? Is the scene simply a self-contained piece of entertainment or has it an element of literary parody which would make it relevant to the main theme of the play? Here I attempt to answer the last of these questions.