Lysistrata

In contast the my last post, which included an unfavorable opinion of Albee, I actually found Lysistrata a good read. As one of my first plays read, it was a bit tough to follow. I actually tried to ignore who was speaking and analyzing the characters and instead just read the text and tried to paint a picture of what was happening. I'm sure eventually I will have to focus on the text of each character, but that will come in time.
The theme of this play is comedic as well as much of the text. By introducing the fact that women are withholding sex in the prologue, I was interested in reading the rest of the play. The plot thickens when the women get in the way of national defense at the treasury, and this is just the beginning of the men's suffering. Eventually, the men are so desperate that their "sex drive" is a visual phenomenom, which was hilarious. In today's very politcally correct world, I found this refreshing.
I also enjoyed the conversation between Lysistrata and the Commissioner because for every complaint/excuse/request of the commissioner, Lysistrata shuts him down with a quick response. She basically puts some sense into the commissioner who probably assumed he was a very powerful man until he felt powerless after talking with the women.
Also, I liked to see references to the ancient gods and mythology. On page 176, Charon and river Styx are mentioned.
Overall, I was glad I read this play. I hope the rest of the plays this semester will continue to grab my attention with the same cleverness as this one.