... civilization and savagery lies at the heart of this play. Each character experiences the competing impulses that exist within all human beings: the instinct to live morally, act peacefully, follow the true and the good or the instinct to satisfy one's immediate desires, act violently and enforce one's will. Philoctetes, "the wild man", cut off from civilisation on Lemnos proves, paradoxically ... his relationship with him is based on lies. Odysseus tells Neoptolemus, "You are going to work out some way of deceiving Philocetetes with a story12" and persuades him to tell this story, here...

• Word Count: 2877
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate