Other editions of book Troilus and Cressida

Although one of his lesser known plays, Shakespeare’s considerable abilities as a playwright are readily apparent in “Troilus and Cressida.” This historical and tragic ‘problem play’, thought to be inspired by Chaucer, Homer, and some of Shakespeare’s history-recording contemporaries, is initially a tale of a man and woman in love during the Trojan War. When Cressida is given to the Greeks in exchange for a prisoner of war, Troilus is determined to rescue her. When he does find her, however, Troilus believes Cressida has betrayed him. On a larger scale, this play also deals with the political battle being waged by Agamemnon of the Greeks against Priam of the Trojans. Much of the plot centers on war councils and battles in which Hector and Achilles play a part. Ultimately, Shakespeare’s play is memorable for its love and betrayal, questioning of hierarchy and honor, morality in the face of reality, and cynical disillusionment. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper, is annotated by Henry N. Hudson, and includes an introduction by Charles Harold Herford.

Although one of his lesser known plays, Shakespeare’s considerable abilities as a playwright are readily apparent in “Troilus and Cressida.” This historical and tragic ‘problem play’, thought to be inspired by Chaucer, Homer, and some of Shakespeare’s history-recording contemporaries, is initially a tale of a man and woman in love during the Trojan War. When Cressida is given to the Greeks in exchange for a prisoner of war, Troilus is determined to rescue her. When he does find her, however, Troilus believes Cressida has betrayed him. On a larger scale, this play also deals with the political battle being waged by Agamemnon of the Greeks against Priam of the Trojans. Much of the plot centers on war councils and battles in which Hector and Achilles play a part. Ultimately, Shakespeare’s play is memorable for its love and betrayal, questioning of hierarchy and honor, morality in the face of reality, and cynical disillusionment. This edition is annotated by Henry N. Hudson, includes an introduction by Charles Harold Herford, and a biographical afterword.

Lauded as one of Shakespeare's problem plays, Troilus and Cressida is notable for its unique mix of comedy and drama. It recounts the seventh year of the Trojan War, culminating in Hector s defeat at the hand of Achilles. Labeled as a tragedy, comedy, and history play, Troilus and Cressida remains one of Shakespeare s most vexing works and continues to resist scholarly classification to this day.

Troilus and Criseyde (circa 1380-87) is Geoffrey Chaucer's poem in rhyme royal (rime royale, seven line stanzas rhyming ababbcc) re-telling the tragic love story of Troilus, a Trojan prince, and Criseyde. Scholarly consensus is that Chaucer completed Troilus and Criseyde by the mid 1380's. Many Chaucer scholars regard this as his best work, even including the better known but incomplete Canterbury Tales. Troilus and Criseyde is an example of a courtly romance, and although it does contain many common features of the genre, generic classification is an area of significant debate in most Middle English literature. The character Troilus is mentioned once in Homer as a valiant son of Priam who died in combat, but the actual story is of Medieval origins and first written by Benoît de Sainte-Maure in his poem Roman de Troie; Boccaccio re-wrote the story in his Il Filostrato which in turn was Chaucer's main source. Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida was based in part on Chaucer's poem. The poem was continued by Robert Henryson in his Testament of Cresseid wherein Henryson, displeased by Chaucer's rather humane treatment of Criseyde, is determined to punish her more openly for her unfaithfulness. The relationship between Chaucer's Troilus and his source material (Il Filostrato) is discussed extensively by C. S. Lewis in The Allegory of Love. Briefly, Chaucer's poem reflects a less cynical and less misogynistic world-view than Boccaccio's; his Pandarus is well-intentioned and his Criseyde sincere but fearful, rather than simply fickle. The sadness of the story is also lightened by humour.