The Birds Literary Elements

The Birds Literary Elements

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.

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