Troilus and Cressida

Literary and cultural references

The siege of Troy was one of the popular literary subjects in England circa 1600 and was among the most important events in world history for the contemporaries of Shakespeare.[34] An abundance of allusions in Shakespeare's complete works show that Shakespeare felt able to assume his audience would be aware of this narrative material. In addition, from the records of Philip Henslowe, at least two lost dramas on this subject are known.[18]

Translations of the Iliad were made in Greek, Latin and French in Elizabethan England; moreover, Shakespeare's contemporary George Chapman also prepared an English version. Shakespeare probably knew the Iliad through Chapman's translation and may have drawn on it for some of the parts of his play, but Shakespeare probably also drew on medieval and post-medieval traditions.[35]

In the traditions of Middle English literature, the material was presented on the one hand in a knightly courtly form, but on the other hand increasingly transformed in a negative-critical way. Above all, the image of Cressida changed in the course of the 16th century, so that at the turn of the century Troilus and Cressida had become increasingly included in infidelity and falsity and the name Pandarus became used as a synonym for procurers ("pander").[36]

Accordingly, Shakespeare's arrangement of events and figures is part of a longer tradition of transforming and, in particular, detracting from the established narrative material. Almost all the characters prove unworthy of their legendary reputation. In his drama, Shakespeare does not simply intensify these negative tendencies, but links and superimposes contradictory characterizations in order to make his characters interesting and accessible to his audience. The play's lack of popularity in the playhouse indicates that in this he was unsuccessful.[37]


This content is from Wikipedia. GradeSaver is providing this content as a courtesy until we can offer a professionally written study guide by one of our staff editors. We do not consider this content professional or citable. Please use your discretion when relying on it.