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Hughes 'The Birds', like Aristophanes’ satirical comedy upon which it is based, is an exploration of the role of cities and the role of man within them. A man, Pitcher, seeking to escape the authoritarian laws and continual litigation of the city, walks until he reaches the edge of the sky. He is met by the half man/half bird Hoopoe (of the Tereus/Philomele myth) who warns him against attempting to enter the world of the birds. Under threat of attack, and realising the birds great potential for growth, development and colonization, Pitcher persuades them to develop their homeland; putting in place all the warring, legal and financial structures he sought to leave behind him. He persuades the birds to build a city in the sky, cutting off the supply of food and gifts from the humans beneath to the gods above. This provokes the gods to visit but they, like the birds, are persuaded by Pitcher's charisma. The birds succeed in displacing the gods as the world's powerbrokers and Pitcher is appointed King of their new kingdom: Blue Sky City.
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