The worlds first comedian?

This amazing Greek dramatist knew how to communicate through comedy. Like present-day humorists, much of his work focused on current events or politicians.

What can we learn from this ancient wordsmith?

1. Humor can be a great teaching device. One of his early plays – “The Clouds” – talks about an old man trying to solve problems by enrolling in a “thinking school.”

2. Repetition – Aristophanes reinforced the main points of his plays by repeating major themes, often in verse.

3. Rhythm and song – These found their way into the author’s works as a helpful memory device.
In fact, you might call Aristophanes “the great-great grandfather of musical comedy.”

4. Fantasy – In his play “The Frogs” Aristophanes tells about a trip to Hades to bring the author Euripides back to earth.

5. Offbeat comedy – Some critics claim a few of his comedies were intentionally silly. In some, a character from the play would step forward to address the audience. This person may have been one of the earliest “stand-up comics.”

6. Segmentation – A few critics say that Aristophanes’ writing skipped from one subject to another, and often seemed disconnected. Others, however, saw that this ancient author knew how to change subjects easily – and create powerful scenes – by weaving a single theme throughout each presentation.

Rix Quinn writes the nationally syndicated weekly humor feature “Poor Rix’s Almanac.” His book “Words That Stick” is available from your local bookstore, or http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580085768/qid/

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