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Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida, a tragedy by Shakespeare probably written 1602, printed 1609, included in the First Folio of 1623. As well as Homer's and Chaucer's handling of material concerning the lovers and the siege of Troy, Shakespeare knew of Henryson's Testament of Cresseid, Caxton's Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, and Lydgate's Troy Book, and drew on Ovid's Metamorphoses Books XI and XII and R. Greene's Euphues his Censure to Philautus (1587).
Shakespeare's treatment of the love of Troilus and Cressida and its betrayal, against the setting of the siege of Troy by the Greeks, is conventional. The play contains much formal debate, and takes the story up to the death of Hector at the hands of Achilles: Troilus fails to kill his rival Diomedes, and the cynically railing Thersites escapes death. |
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Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Troilus and Cressida." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Troilus and Cressida." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-TroilusandCressida.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Troilus and Cressida." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-TroilusandCressida.html |
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Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and CressidaTroilus and Cressida appear in medieval legend as a pair of lovers. Troilus was faithful, while Cressida was not. Their story comes from the Trojan Warf of Greek mythology. Virgil* mentioned Troilus in his epic the Aeneid as one of the sons of the Trojan king Priam. He noted that Troilus was slain by the Greek hero Achilles* while driving a chariot. In the 1100s, a storyteller named Benoît de Sainte-Maure took these few items from Virgil's work and created an elaborate romance about Troilus. Giovanni Boccaccio and Geoffrey Chaucer wrote poems about the story in the 1300s. Around 1600, William Shakespeare used the tale as the basis for his play Troilus and Cressida. medieval relating to the Middle Ages in Europe, a period from about a.d. 500 to 1500 epic long poem about legendary or historical heroes, written in a grand style romance in medieval literature, a tale based on legend, love, and adventure, often set in a distant place or time According to the medieval story, Troilus fell in love with Cressida, a young Trojan woman. She was the niece of Troilus's friend Pandarus, who encouraged the relationship by carrying letters and arranging meetings. However, Cressida's father decided to side with the Greeks against his own people, and he ordered Cressida to join him in the Greek camp. There, despite her vows of loyalty to Troilus, she fell in love with a Greek soldier named Diomedes. Her faithlessness filled Troilus with rage and despair. Some versions say that he willingly died at the hands of Achilles. See also Achilles; Priam; Trojan War. |
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Cite this article
"Troilus and Cressida." Myths and Legends of the World. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Troilus and Cressida." Myths and Legends of the World. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3490900486.html "Troilus and Cressida." Myths and Legends of the World. 2001. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3490900486.html |
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Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida , a medieval romance distantly related to characters in Greek legend. Troilus, a Trojan prince (son of Priam and Hecuba), fell in love with Cressida (Chryseis), daughter of Calchas. When she was exchanged for a Trojan prisoner of war, Cressida swore to be faithful to Troilus, but then deceived him with Diomed. Troilus was killed by Achilles. This story appeared first in Benoît de Sainte-More, from whom Boccaccio drew for his Filostrato. Chaucer and Shakespeare also used this legend. |
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Cite this article
"Troilus and Cressida." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Troilus and Cressida." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-TroilusN.html "Troilus and Cressida." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-TroilusN.html |
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