Genre
Comedy
Language
Greek
Setting and Context
A Hillside Wilderness outside of Athens, Greece - 414 BC
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is that of Peisetaerus.
Tone and Mood
Comedic
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Peisetaerus. Antagonists are Poseidon, Heracles, and Triballians.
Major Conflict
Peisetaerus and Euelpides have left Athens in order to find Tereus, and man who has become a bird to help them discover a new place to live out life.
Climax
Peisetaerus and Euelpides turn into birds and give the birds the idea for how to become the new gods. Peisetaerus negotiates with Poseidon, Heracles and Triballians and gets Zeus' scepter and Princess, whom he weds.
Foreshadowing
Tereus coming out as a bird foreshadows that Peisetaerus and Euelpides will themselves turn into birds.
Understatement
It is understated as to why Zeus would allow Poseidon, Heracles, and Triballians to give up his scepter and the Princess so easily.
Allusions
The play is an allusion to the need for man to leave the legalism and argument over the law and find a way of living that sets them apart from both man and the gods.
Imagery
The waves of visitors that come into the play create the most comedic imagery in the story.
Paradox
Zeus' greatest power is the Princess and his scepter. Paradoxically, he allows other gods to give them away.
Parallelism
The arrival of Poseidon, Heracles and Triballians parallels the arrival of the other visitors just before them; the messengers, the poet, informer, et al.
Personification
Peisetaerus becomes the personification of power when he takes Zeus' lightning bolt and Princess for his own.
Use of Dramatic Devices
The use of the Chorus throughout the play allows for them to represent the birds and the foolishness and/or the wonder of the protagonist within the plot of the play.
