9
votes
Accepted
Why does Odysseus decide to leave without Philoktetes?
The most natural way to read this passage is that Odysseus concedes defeat for the moment, but only in order to plan another stratagem. Odysseus is renowned for his trickery, and earlier in the play ...
- 60.7k
8
votes
Accepted
Why is Philoktetes specifically hunting "doves"?
TL;DR: Doves could have been a common bird that Philoktetes hunted and ate, given his situation in the play, making them the species that came most readily to mind in the quoted speeches.
Philoktetes ...
- 60.7k
3
votes
Accepted
Purpose of the stage direction "Burst of light, fading. Distant rumbling." in "Philoktetes"
Scully’s interpretation of this passage is that Philoktetes and Odysseus are offering competing interpretations of some kind of omen, and Scully gives us a “burst of light” and “distant rumbling” as a ...
- 60.7k
2
votes
Accepted
Why does the chorus pray to Rhea in "Philoktetes"?
Richard Jebb has a note that explains this.
391–402 Mindful of their young chief’s precept—πειρῶ τὸ παρὸν θεραπεύειν (149)1—the Chorus seize this moment in order to deepen the impression left on the ...
- 60.7k
1
vote
Purpose of the stage direction "Burst of light, fading. Distant rumbling." in "Philoktetes"
Quick non-scholarly take based on what I feel, not what I know (as of 24.02.2022).
Signs of natural disaster occur in Antigone as well (Creon decrees vindictive measures - gods impose sanctions – ...
- 1,896
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