Das Drama der Kommunikation: Zur Wirksamkeit von Sprache in Sophokles’ Philoktet

Verbal interaction is crucial in Sophocles’ Philoctetes, as the play’s conflict is fought almost exclusively by means of words. However, language is portrayed as failing on all levels: from mere articulation to agreement about the meaning of words and to cooperation in conversation. At the same time, there seems to be a negative correlation between the production of articulated or even rhetorical utterances and the speakers’ achieving of their aims. This paper argues that in Philoctetes Sophocles illustrates the conditions and the social embeddedness of language use, transcending fifth-century philosophical and rhetorical approaches to the matter. The focus on language helps to reframe the conflict underlying the play, from being predominantly moral to being social in nature