1. Several characters from the Iliad appear in Ajax: Ajax, Athena, Odysseus, Teucer, Agamemnon, and Menelaus. How is each of these characters different from her or his portrayal in the Iliad, and how have they remained the same?

2. Why does Ajax kill himself?

3. What is the role of Tecmessa? Of the chorus?

4. Read very carefully Ajax's speech at lines 644-92 (pp. 31-33)? What do you make of this speech? Is Ajax deliberately deceiving Tecmessa and the chorus? Why does he talk about change here?

5. Ajax has often been criticized for lacking unity. The play, it has been argued, is made up of two unconnected parts. What do you think?

6. What visual effects would contribute to this play?

7. It has often been argued that Ajax is about the passing of the "heroic ideal," exemplified by Achilles, Hector, and Ajax himself. What would this mean, and do you agree?