Troilus and Cressida

Description

A tragedy of jealousy and betrayal as well as a satire of the consequences of greed and lust, this drama unfolds amid the violent desperation of the Trojan War. After seven years of bloodshed, few illusions remain about the glory of war. The fate of two young lovers - Troilus, a Trojan prince, and Cressida, the fickle daughter of a traitorous priest - is intertwined with the exploits of Ulysses, Achilles, and other immortal figures of classical mythology. Based in part on Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, Shakespeare's work offers a darker and more cynical vision than its predecessor. Comic, tragic, and ironic by turns, the drama shifts between the intimacy of the central romance to the broader perspective of the armies' pointless skirmishes. Frequently regarded as the most modern of Shakespeare's dramas, the play debunks heroic ideals and delivers a powerful statement about the futility of war.

"He was not of an age, but for all time," declared Ben Jonson of his contemporary William Shakespeare (1564-1616). Jonson's praise is especially prescient, since at the turn of the 17th century Shakespeare was but one of many popular London playwrights and none of his dramas were printed in his lifetime. The reason so many of his works survive is because two of his actor friends, with the assistance of Jonson, assembled and published the First Folio edition of 1623.