Conflict In Aristophanes Lysistrata

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There are certain notions which prevail in the understanding of the structure of a drama. Whether it was a Classical Greek theatre or a Classical Indian Theatre, the methodology of production followed certain rigid conventions, and these conventions, according to a modern/post-modern spectator, may look slightly mechanistic but considering the then cultural setting it was of a ritualistic pageantry. Every art form in ancient times, especially the theatre, had something to do with divinity and belief systems. The entire performance rigidly followed the customs and traditions and the presence of the high priest was imperative. In production, performances were preceded by elaborate rituals, collectively known as poorvaranga. Often the brief conversations…show more content…
It is axiomatic to state that without conflict there is no play. The play exists because of a certain contest and where in which there is a deliberate will to attain a goal and impediments are strewn all over to create immediate sense of conflict. At the opening part of the play a stage is set, a situation is created from which there is no turning back and the challenge before the characters is to convince the spectator of finite opportunities. In Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, Lysistrata persuades the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace in Athens, which has been at war for eighteen years. The opening scene of Miller’s Death of Salesman, the spectator sees Willy, who, throughout his life, has constructed elaborate fantasies to deny the mounting evidence of his failure to fulfill his desires and expectations. At the beginning of the play, Willy suffers from self-delusion. Elizabeth, in The Barretts of Wimpole Street, is an invalid before meeting Robert Browning and in the opening scene he gets acquainted with her invalid status and her father’s tyrannical outlook. As one can say the opening part of play confirms the confusion and conflict in store for the next scenes. Exposition is done through various devices and in modern plays, contrary to the older ones, little exposition is done. The audience does have the acumen to get into the scheme of things without elaborate explanation of background. Greek plays had chorus for reviewing the period antecedent to the opening part. Shakespeare followed this in his historical plays. The present day prologue or chorus centers on the narrator as it is found in John Patrick’s The Teahouse of the August Moon. Sakini. a local Okinawan interpreter for the American military, speaks directly to the audience, introducing the historical circumstances of the play in
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