The Birds by Sean O'brien
The reality is that little is known of Aristophanes actual life but eleven of his forty plays survive intact and upon those rest his deserved reputation as the Father of Comedy or, The Prince of Ancient Comedy. Accounts agree that he was born sometime between 456BC and 446 BC. Many cities claim the honor of his birthplace and the most probable story makes him the son of Philippus of gina, and therefore only an adopted citizen of Athens, a distinction which, at times could be cruel, though he was raised and educated in Athens. His plays are said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more realistically than any other author could. Intellectually his powers of ridicule were feared by his influential contemporaries; Plato himself singled out Aristophanes' play The Clouds as a slander that contributed to the trial and condemning to death of Socrates and although other satirical playwrights had also caricatured the philosopher his carried the most weight. His now lost play, The Babylonians, was denounced by the demagogue Cleon as a slander against the Athenian polis. Aristophanes seems to have taken this criticism to heart and thereafter caricatured Cleon mercilessly in his subsequent plays, especially The Knights. His life and playwriting years were undoubtedly long though again accounts as to the year of his death vary quite widely. What can be certain is that his legacy of surviving plays is in effect both a treasured legacy but also in itself the only surviving texts of Ancient Greek comedy.
Sean O'Brien is a poet, critic, playwright, broadcaster, anthologist and editor. He is Professor of Poetry at Sheffield Hallam University. His theatre work includes the political tragedy Laughter When We're Dead (Live Theatre, Newcastle, 2000); a monologue, My Last Barmaid (Live Theatre, Newcastle, 2001); a jazz music theatre piece, Downriver (cowritten with Keith Morris, Newcastle Playhouse, 2001); a second radio play, The Black Path, broadcast on Radio 3 (cowritten with Julia Darling, 2002); and his verse version of Aristophanes' The Birds premiered at the Royal National Theatre in July 2002. He has written five collections of poetry: The Indoor Park (1983); The Frighteners (1987); HMS Glasshouse (1991); Ghost Train (winner of the Forward Prize, 1995); and Downriver (Poetry Book Society recommendation and winner of the Forward Prize, 2001). His other awards include the Somerset Maugham Award, the Cholmondeley Award and the E. M. Forster Award. Cousin Coat: Selected Poems, 1976-2001 was published in 2002. He is poetry critic of the Sunday Times, he contributes to the Times Literary Supplement and the Guardian, and is editor of a magazine called The Devil.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780413772787 |
| ISBN 10 | 0413772780 |
| Title | The Birds |
| Author | Sean O'brien |
| Series | Modern Plays |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Year published | 2002-07-22 |
| Number of pages | 96 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |