sing on the river This kind of impossible but funny situation is common in Old Comedy The journey to Hades makes the play lively and imaginative It helps Aristophanes freely criticize society through a comic dream world Comic Portrayal of Gods and Characters Old Comedy often shows gods in a humorous way Dionysus the god of drama is shown as foolish cowardly and confused He even says Forget my courage Show me the highway that takes me directly down to Hades This makes the audience laugh Gods are not serious or divine here They behave like ordinary silly men This bold treatment of gods is a strong feature of Old Comedy Role of the Chorus The Chorus is very important in Old Comedy and The Frogs clearly shows this The chorus appears as singing frogs They create comedy with nonsense sounds like Brekekekex koax koax Later the Chorus speaks directly to the audience They give advice about politics and society Parabasis and Direct Social Criticism The Parabasis is a special part of Old Comedy where the Chorus speaks the poet s own views In The Frogs the Chorus openly criticizes the leaders of Athens They ask people to change their ways They say that worthy people should be used again nbsp But now you silly fools it s time to change your ways Use worthy people once again This open political advice shows that Old Comedy does not hide its message Aristophanes uses comedy as a tool to correct society Satire on Literature and Poets Old Comedy often attacks writers and intellectuals In this play Aristophanes presents a comic contest between Aeschylus and Euripides They argue about whose poetry is better for Athens Euripides represents the new intellectual thinking of Athens Euripides proudly claims that his plays taught people to think deeply and question everything I taught them to think to love double dealing to suspect the worst Aristophanes uses this line to criticize him He suggests that this kind of thinking has made people clever but dishonest and morally weak In contrast Aeschylus represents old values and tradition He believes poets should make people noble and brave Through Aeschylus Aristophanes shows his belief that poetry should guide society toward courage honor and moral goodness not confusion and deceit Dionysus finally decides to take Aeschylus back because he can give better advice to the city This literary satire is a major feature of Old Comedy Bold Language Old Comedy uses bold language jokes and exaggeration without fear Aristophanes freely mocks politicians poets and even gods There is no restriction This freedom makes Old Comedy lively and powerful In conclusion The Frogs is a perfect example of Old Comedy It includes fantasy comic gods an active chorus open satire literary debate and a strong moral message Aristophanes uses humour to teach Athens how to think and act wisely Therefore the play fully shows all the main features of Old Comedy in a clear and effective way