Troilus and Cressida
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What is 'Troilus and Cressida'?
Troilus and Cressida is a five-act drama by William Shakespeare, likely written around 1601–02. The play is based on George Chapman's translation of the Iliad and 15th-century accounts of the Trojan War.
Shakespeare's work is a cynical exploration of the strife between the Greek and Trojan armies, including the betrayal of love and the absence of heroism. The drama explores the story of Troilus, a Trojan prince, and Cressida, a Trojan woman who pledges her love to him but later accepts the attentions of a Greek officer. The play ultimately ends with moral and political disintegration. Many scholars classify Troilus and Cressida as one of Shakespeare's "problem plays" because its genre is anomalous.
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Who wrote 'Troilus and Cressida'?
William Shakespeare wrote Troilus and Cressida around 1601–02. It was printed in a quarto edition in two different versions in 1609.
Troilus and Cressida is based on George Chapman's translation of the Iliad and 15th-century accounts of the Trojan War by John Lydgate and William Caxton. The play explores the causes of strife between the Greek and Trojan armies, the betrayal of love, the absence of heroism, and the emptiness of honor. Many scholars classify Troilus and Cressida as one of Shakespeare's "problem plays" or "dark" comedies because its genre is anomalous.
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Where is 'Troilus and Cressida' set?
Troilus and Cressida is set in the city of Troy during the Trojan War. The play explores the strife between the Greek and Trojan armies, the betrayal of love, the absence of heroism, and the emptiness of honor. It portrays the love between Troilus and Cressida as overwhelmed by the circumstances of war that they cannot control. The war itself is presented as a senseless conflict fought over Helen, the wife of Menelaus, who is now the mistress of the Trojan prince Paris.
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Who are the main characters in 'Troilus and Cressida'?
Troilus and Cressida is a play by William Shakespeare set during the Trojan War. The drama revolves around the love story of Troilus, a Trojan prince, and Cressida, a Trojan woman who pledges her love to him.
Other significant characters include Hector, the wisest of the Trojans, and Pandarus, the go-between for Troilus and Cressida. The Greek side features key figures such as Achilles, a legendary hero, and Ulysses, a shrewd general.
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What is the main plot or story of 'Troilus and Cressida'?
Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida explores the complexities of the Trojan War, where love and honor clash amidst betrayal and disillusionment.
Troilus, a Trojan prince, and Cressida, a Trojan woman, pledge their love, but circumstances of war tear them apart when Cressida is sent to the Greek camp. There, she yields to the attentions of Diomedes, a Greek officer. Meanwhile, the war is exposed as a senseless conflict over Helen, wife of Menelaus and mistress of Paris. The play critiques the absence of heroism and the emptiness of honor through characters like the petulant Achilles and the pragmatic Ulysses, ending in moral and political disintegration.
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How is 'Troilus and Cressida' different from other Shakespeare plays?
Troilus and Cressida stands out from other Shakespearean plays due to its ambiguous genre and cynical exploration of love and war.
Key distinctions:
* Genre Ambiguity Unlike Shakespeare's comedies, tragedies, or histories, Troilus and Cressida defies easy classification, often grouped with "problem plays" or "dark comedies".
* Cynical Tone The play presents a disillusioned view of the Trojan War, stripping away heroism and highlighting the senselessness of conflict.
* Moral Disintegration Troilus and Cressida concludes with a sense of moral and political decay, rather than a resolution or catharsis.
* Love and Betrayal The love story between Troilus and Cressida is marred by betrayal and separation, contrasting with the more idealized romances in other plays.2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Troilus and Cressida, drama in five acts by William Shakespeare, written about 1601–02 and printed in a quarto edition in two different “states” in 1609, probably from the author’s working draft. The editors of the First Folio of 1623 may have had copyright difficulties in obtaining permission to include this play in their collection; it is anomalously placed between the histories and the tragedies, almost entirely without pagination. Its genre is indeed anomalous; many scholars prefer to classify it with the “problem plays” or the “dark” comedies. Based on George Chapman’s translation of the Iliad and on 15th-century accounts of the Trojan War by John Lydgate and William Caxton, Troilus and Cressida is an often cynical exploration of the causes of strife between and within the Greek and Trojan armies—the betrayal of love, the absence of heroism, and the emptiness of honour. The play was also influenced by Geoffrey Chaucer’s love poem Troilus and Criseyde, although Shakespeare’s treatment of the lovers and his attitude toward their dilemma is in sharp contrast to Chaucer’s.
Cressida, a Trojan woman whose father has defected to the Greeks, pledges her love to Troilus, one of King Priam’s sons. However, when her father demands her presence in the Greek camp, she reluctantly accepts the attentions of Diomedes, the Greek officer who has been sent to escort her to the Greek side. Given her situation in an enemy camp and being an attractive woman among sex-starved warriors, she has few choices. The love between Troilus and Cressida, begun on such a hopeful note, is at last overwhelmed by the circumstances of war that they cannot control. Meanwhile, the war itself is presented in all its seamy aspects, since it is at bottom a senseless war fought over the possession of Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta but now the mistress of the Trojan prince Paris. Their one scene together presents Helen and Paris as vapid and self-centred. Other figures fare no less well. The legendary Greek hero Achilles is depicted as petulant and greedy for honour, so much so that he brutally massacres the great Hector when that warrior is unarmed. Hector, for his part, is at once the wisest of the Trojans and a captive of his own sense of honour that obliges him to go into battle when his wife and family all warn him of ominous prognostications. The Greek general Agamemnon is given to long-winded speeches; so is old Nestor. Ulysses, the most astute of the Greek generals, is right-minded about many things but also cynical and calculating. Ajax, another Greek officer, is an oaf, easily put upon by his colleagues. Thersites, a deformed Greek, comments wryly on the actions of the other characters, while Pandarus, the bawdy go-between of the lovers, enjoys watching their degradation. The drama ends on a note of complete moral and political disintegration.
For a discussion of this play within the context of Shakespeare’s entire corpus, see William Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s plays and poems.
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