Who Socrates is
Socrates is the head of the Thinkery, where strange investigations sit alongside lessons in clever speech. His students describe his studies of a flea's jump and the source of a gnat's hum. When he appears hanging in a basket, his lofty position turns thought itself into a stage joke.
Aristophanes combines a natural philosopher and a teacher of persuasion in this comic figure. The real Socrates does not run a school or take fees, as the play's character does.
Socrates and the others in the story
Strepsiades comes to Socrates hoping to learn arguments that will let him cheat his creditors. Socrates tries to teach him meter, rhythm and grammar, but the farmer keeps thinking about money. Their lessons bring together a teacher of clever speech and a pupil who wants tricks rather than wisdom.
What Socrates wants
Socrates asks Strepsiades to accept new powers in place of the gods the city honors. He calls upon the Clouds as goddesses who give thinkers speech and thought. His teaching places questions about belief beside the play's concern with words that can make wrong seem right.
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Who is Socrates in The Clouds?
He is the comic head of the Thinkery, teaching speech and investigating the natural world.
Is this the real Socrates?
No, the portrait mixes the philosopher with the kind of teacher who sells lessons in persuasion.
Why does Strepsiades seek out Socrates?
Strepsiades wants to avoid paying his creditors by learning how to win arguments. He approaches the Thinkery for a useful trick, not for wisdom.
