The Declarative Style in the Sophocles’ Philoctetes: A study in discourse analysis

The study of dialogue in ancient Greek theater is important in understanding the depth and complexity of these ancient dramatic works. By studying the rhetorical techniques used in ancient Greek dramas, scholars and researchers gain a deeper understanding of the persuasive and dialectical strategies employed by playwrights; just as Sophocles employed the declarative style and its semantics in his play "Philoctetes," where the declarative style is one of the foundations of ancient Greek theater. Through it, events, characters, and ideas can be conveyed in all their dimensions to the audience. Thus, it is not merely a means of telling the story but carries deep linguistic semantics and multiple artistic dimensions. The importance of the declarative style lies in understanding the general context of the play, expressing emotions, revealing facts, and thus drawing a vivid picture of the nature of each character individually. Therefore, the researcher relied on the descriptive method in analyzing the text and extracting declarative styles and their semantics. The research was divided into an introduction, a definition of declarative styles and their semantics (affirmative, negative, praise, attracting attention, persuasion, result, ambiguity in the actions of the gods, pity, patriotism, wishing, clinging to hope, insult, extreme oppression, doubt, hasty decision-making, suggestion, warning, wish, positive thinking, reassurance, keeping promises, fear, anger, severe confusion, and regret, acquittal, and self-confidence, the pain of choice, defending the idea of deception, blame, and oath), then identifying the most and least used words in the play, and finally the conclusion.