towards the end. The elements of a parabasis have been defined and named by scholars but it is probable that Aristophanes' own understanding was less formal. The selection of elements can vary from play to play and it varies considerably within plays between first and second parabasis. The early plays (The Acharnians to The Birds) are fairly uniform in their approach however and the following elements of a parabasis can be found within them. kommation: This is a brief prelude, comprising short lines and often including a valediction to the departing actors, such as (Go rejoicing!). parabasis proper: This is usually a defense of the author's work and it includes criticism of the audience's attitude. It is declaimed in long lines of 'anapestic tetrameters'. Aristophanes himself refers to the parabasis proper only as 'anapests'. pnigos: Sometimes known as 'a choker', it comprises a few short lines appended to the parabasis proper as a kind of rapid patter (it has been suggested that some of the effects achieved in a pnigos can be heard in "The Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song", in act 2 of Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe). epirrhematic syzygies: These are symmetrical scenes that mirror each other in meter and number of lines. They form part of the first parabasis and they often comprise the entire second parabasis. They are characterized by the following elements: strophe or ode: These are lyrics in a variety of meters, sung by the Chorus in the first parabasis as an invocation to the gods and as a comic interlude in the second parabasis. epirrhema: These are usually long lines of trochaic tetrameters. Broadly political in their significance, they were probably spoken by the leader of the Chorus in character. antistrophe or antode: These are songs that mirror the strophe/ode in meter, length and function. antepirrhema. This is another declaimed passage and it mirrors the epirrhema in meter, length and function. The Wasps is thought to offer the best example of a conventional approach and the elements of a parabasis can be identified and located in that play as follows. {| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; background-color: #ffffff" ! Elements in The Wasps ! 1st parabasis ! 2nd parabasis |- | kommation | lines 1009–1014 | --- |- | parabasis proper | lines 1015–1050 | --- |- | pnigos | lines 1051–1059 | --- |- | strophe | lines 1060–1070 | lines 1265–1274 |-