Aristófanes, Ecclesiazusae 918-926 en clave poética: léxico, sintaxis, poesía popular y reparto de papeles

Aristophanes, Ecclesiazusae 918-926 in a Poetic Key: Vocabulary, Syntax, Popular Poetry and Distribution of Roles · Throughout the scene between the young woman and the first old woman in Ecclesiazusae (893-937), before the appearance of the young man, there are several passages in which either the meaning, or the distribution of roles, or both are discussed. We focus here on the lyric vv. 918-923 and the following three trimeters (924-926), providing arguments for their assignment to one character or another, through an in-depth analysis of the vocabulary and syntax, in connection with the clearly popular character of the songs involved in the entire scene. The words ὑφαρπάζεσθαι “appropiate”, “usurp”, παίγνια “light songs”, “ditties” and the expression τὸν ἀπ’ Ἰωνίας τρόπον “in the Ionian style (of song)” find their full meaning when understood in reference to the traditional lyric song that the young woman performs from v. 911 on. The meaning of ὥραν … οὐδ’ ἀπολήψει (922-923) is also clarified, and the sentence οὐκ ἄν ποθ’ ὑφαρπάσαιο τἀμὰ παίγνια (920 s.), traditionally seen as a potential assertion, could perhaps be understood as a polite order or request, here used ironically.