What is the author's style in The Complete Plays by Aristophanes?

The point of view of all of these plays is similar as an audience views them and so there are several conventions that are used to convey information to the audience. Most of the action in the plays occurs between characters that typically do not have full access to what is going on in the play as a whole. There is also a chorus that will engage in what is called a parabis or a direct address to the audience. In this part of the play, the chorus will address the audience from the point of view of the author.

Sometimes this part of the play will involve the chorus explain how great the author is or getting another jibe in at a political figure or rival playwright. Sometimes, the parabis will include a chastisement to the audience for not liking an earlier play by the author and sometimes it will include inducements to vote for the current play. In the Birds the chorus, made up of birds, threatens to poop on the audience after the play if they do not vote for the play. This is an interesting technique not widely used since Old Comedy where members of the cast will directly address the audience breaking what was later called the "fourth wall".

Old Comedy in general is more informal than tragedy in this regard and more so than later comedy as well. The themes, though always topical in one way or another are also often absurdist such as in Lysistrata and Birds.