Genre
Play
Language
Greek
Setting and Context
The action take place on the island of Lemnos. The year is the last year of the Trojan War.
Narrator and Point of View
All the events are revealed by the characters themselves.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood of the play is anxious and uneasy at some moments.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Philoctetes; the antagonist is Odysseus.
Major Conflict
The main conflict of the play is in a person’s ability to keep true to his opinions, even when pressure of good reasoning is placed. Neoptolemus at first yields under the arguments of Odysseus, but finally his common sense wins. Sophocles, unlike other ancient playwrights, supported the idea that a person’s character traits are inherited. He tries to prove this idea with the example of Neoptolemus, whose inner, inherited goodness wins.
Climax
The climax comes when Neoptolemus refuses to make Philoctetes go by force, and Philoctetes in his turn, refuses to go by his own will.
Foreshadowing
Odysseus’s story (of how Philoctetes has appeared on the island of Lemnos) foreshadows that the case of persuading Philoctetes to follow them to Troy won’t be easy, as Philoctetes has a very deep grudge against Odysseus.
Understatement
Odysseus has understated Neoptolemus’s ability to obey orders.
Allusions
The play alludes to the Trojan War and other Greek myths.
Imagery
Images of the island Lemnos and of Philoctetes’s cave are depicted in the play.
Paradox
The main paradox of the play is the image of Odysseus. He stands in most of the myths and legends as a hero, but in the play “Philoctetes” he is presented as a mean and egoistic warrior.
Parallelism
N/A
Personification
“For the ship herself will carry him without demur.” (The ship is personified.)
Use of Dramatic Devices
The appearance of Hercules in the end of the play is a technique known as deux ex machina. This technique is common for ancient plays.
