This rollicking new translation of Aristophanes' comic masterpiece is rendered in blank verse for dialogue and in lyric meters and free verse for the songs. Appended commentary essays--on ancient warfare, classical Greek rationalism, Athenian women, Athenian democracy and the Athenian festivals--offer lively and informative discussions not only of Aristophanes, but of the broader fifth-century social, political, and cultural context as well.