The Birds | Page 4

of the scenery and
costumes, 'The Birds' failed to win the first prize. This was acclaimed
to a play of Aristophanes' rival, Amipsias, the title of which, 'The
Comastoe,' or 'Revellers,' "seems to imply that the chief interest was
derived from direct allusions to the outrage above mentioned and to the
individuals suspected to have been engaged in it."
For this reason, which militated against its immediate success, viz. the
absence of direct allusion to contemporary politics-- there are, of course,
incidental references here and there to topics and personages of the
day--the play appeals perhaps more than any other of our Author's
productions to the modern reader. Sparkling wit, whimsical fancy,
poetic charm, are of all ages, and can be appreciated as readily by
ourselves as by an Athenian audience of two thousand years ago,
though, of course, much is inevitably lost "without the important
adjuncts of music, scenery, dresses and what we may call 'spectacle'
generally, which we know in this instance to have been on the most
magnificent scale."
The plot is this. Euelpides and Pisthetaerus, two old Athenians,
disgusted with the litigiousness, wrangling and sycophancy of their
countrymen, resolve upon quitting Attica. Having heard of the fame of
Epops (the hoopoe), sometime called Tereus, and now King of the
Birds, they determine, under the direction of a raven and a jackdaw, to
seek from him and his subject birds a city free from all care and strife."
Arrived at the Palace of Epops, they knock, and Trochilus (the wren),
in a state of great flutter, as he mistakes them for fowlers, opens the
door and informs them that his Majesty is asleep. When he awakes, the
strangers appear before him, and after listening to a long and eloquent
harangue on the superior attractions of a residence among the birds,

they propose a notable scheme of their own to further enhance its
advantages and definitely secure the sovereignty of the universe now
exercised by the gods of Olympus.
The birds are summoned to meet in general council. They come flying
up from all quarters of the heavens, and after a brief mis- understanding,
during which they come near tearing the two human envoys to pieces,
they listen to the exposition of the latters' plan. This is nothing less than
the building of a new city, to be called Nephelococcygia, or
'Cloud-cuckoo-town,' between earth and heaven, to be garrisoned and
guarded by the birds in such a way as to intercept all communication of
the gods with their worshippers on earth. All steam of sacrifice will be
prevented from rising to Olympus, and the Immortals will very soon be
starved into an acceptance of any terms proposed. The new Utopia is
duly constructed, and the daring plan to secure the sovereignty is in a
fair way to succeed. Meantime various quacks and charlatans, each
with a special scheme for improving things, arrive from earth, and are
one after the other exposed and dismissed. Presently arrives
Prometheus, who informs Epops of the desperate straits to which the
gods are by this time reduced, and advises him to push his claims and
demand the hand of Basileia (Dominion), the handmaid of Zeus. Next
an embassy from the Olympians appears on the scene, consisting of
Heracles, Posidon and a god from the savage regions of the Triballians.
After some disputation, it is agreed that all reasonable demands of the
birds are to be granted, while Pisthetaerus is to have Basileia as his
bride. The comedy winds up with the epithalamium in honour of the
nuptials.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE
EUELPIDES PISTHETAERUS EPOPS (the Hoopoe) TROCHILUS,
Servant to Epops PHOENICOPTERUS HERALDS A PRIEST A
POET A PROPHET METON, a Geometrician A COMMISSIONER A
DEALER IN DECREES IRIS A PARRICIDE CINESIAS, a
Dithyrambic Bard AN INFORMER PROMETHEUS POSIDON
TRIBALLUS HERACLES SLAVES OF PISTHETAERUS
MESSENGERS CHORUS OF BIRDS

SCENE: A wild, desolate tract of open country; broken rocks and
brushwood occupy the centre of the stage.

EUELPIDES (TO HIS JAY)[1] Do you think I should walk straight for
yon tree?
f[1] Euelpides is holding a jay and Pisthetaerus a crow; they are the
guides who are to lead them to the kingdom of the birds.
PISTHETAERUS (TO HIS CROW) Cursed beast, what are you
croaking to me?...to retrace my steps?
EUELPIDES Why, you wretch, we are wandering at random, we are
exerting ourselves only to return to the same spot; 'tis labour lost.
PISTHETAERUS To think that I should trust to this crow, which has
made me cover more than a thousand furlongs!
EUELPIDES And that I to this jay, which has torn every nail from my
fingers!
PISTHETAERUS If only I knew where we were....
EUELPIDES Could you find your country again from here?
PISTHETAERUS No, I feel quite sure I could not, any more