The Pragmatics of Rhetorical Questions in Sophocles’ Tragedies: An Analysis of Antigone and Electra

This paper, focused on the tragedies Antigone and Electra, analyses both the speaker’s use of rhetorical questions (RQs) and the effect of their use on the speaker’s interaction with the addressee. The data show that RQs are basically linked with contexts of disagreement in which the speaker tries t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Conti Jiménez, Luz
Tipo de recurso: capítulo de libro
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/733920
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10486/733920
https://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783111648644-036
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Rhetorical questions
interaction
pragmatics
Sophocles
Filología
Descripción
Sumario:This paper, focused on the tragedies Antigone and Electra, analyses both the speaker’s use of rhetorical questions (RQs) and the effect of their use on the speaker’s interaction with the addressee. The data show that RQs are basically linked with contexts of disagreement in which the speaker tries to present their beliefs and opinions as irrefutable statements. RQs usually express arguments for or against a standpoint and are frequently inserted into syllogistic-like schemes. RQs can accentuate the confrontational climate between speakers, provoking the addressee to respond to them by expressing sharp disagreement or even attempt-ing to humiliate the interlocutor and reinforce their own face