Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida
A Summary and Analysis of Shakespeare's Problem Play
Jul 26, 2009
Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida was first published in two quarto editions in 1609. It is believed that the play was actually written in 1602, but there is no verifiable evidence for this. Additionally, there is no clear evidence as to whether the play was actually performed during Shakespeare's lifetime. The two quarto editions are contradictory in terms of this--one says that the play had never been performed, the other that it had been.
The play's uncertain beginnings match the rest of its history. Troilus and Cressida remains a rarely produced play and has earned the classification of a "problem play," because it is difficult to classify it as either a comedy or tragedy, as it contains elements of both.
For instance, Pandarus, Cressida's uncle, is depicted as a bawdy, clownish character, similar to the clowns in the comedies Twelfth Night and As You Like It. There are also elements of tragedy in that Hector, Troilus's brother, is killed during the play and the fact that all does not end well for the two lovers. However, the lead character does not himself die during the course of the play's action nor does he necessarily have the traits required of an Aristotlean hero.
Synopsis of the Play
Troilus and Cressida is set in the midst of the Trojan War, a long battle between the Greeks and Trojans supposedly over the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen. Troilus is one of the sons of Priam, the king of Troy. Thus, Troilus is a brother to Paris, who stole Helen away, and to Hector, who dies honorably in battle. With the help of Cressida's uncle, Panderus, Troilus woos Cressida. The two fall in love and pledge undying devotion to each other.
Unfortunately, Cressida's father, Calchas, a priest, has defected over to the Greeks. A decision is made to give Cressida over to the Greek solider Diomedes in exchange for the release of a Trojan prisoner. When they learn of the exchange, Troilus and Cressida give each other tokens of their affection (a sleeve from Troilus and a glove from Cressida) and pledge to remain true. However, it is not long before Troilus, spying on Cressida, sees her give his sleeve to Diomedes. After seeing this, he promises to fight Diomedes to avenge his love.
The love story of Troilus and Cressida actually seems to be an afterthought in the plot of the play. Another plotline of Troilus and Cressida is Achilles's refusal to fight because Agamemmon, a Greek king, had taken the woman who was Achilles's battle prize from him. Feeling dishonored, Achilles sulked in his tent and did not let any of his men fight either. The death of his dear friend Patroclus at the hands of Hector spurs Achilles to return to battle. The play concludes with the death of Hector at the hands of Achilles.
History of the Character of Troilus
Troilus is barely mentioned in ancient literature. However, several poems from the Middle Ages are devoted to him and to his love for the woman who became Cressida. He is mentioned in Apollodorus's The Library of Greek Mythology, which names him as a son of Hecuba and later details his death at the hands of Achilles. Only a fragment of a play called Troilus by Sophocles remains and Troilus receives the briefest of mentions in the Iliad, when Priam is lamenting the loss of his best sons. The classical version of Troilus needed to die young, before he was able to have children, so that Troy could be destroyed completely. On the other hand, the Medieval Troilus was given the ability to love.
History of the Character of Cressida
Unlike Troilus, Cressida does not appear in classical literature. She first appears, known as Briseida, in Benoit de Sainte Maure's Roman de Troie, a retelling of the Trojan War written around 1155. Briseida's flightiness is depicted by Sainte Maure as well, who writes that "her heart was not constant."
However, Sainte Maure's Briseida was not depicted as negatively as many would argue Shakespeare's Cressida was. Unlike Shakespeare's Cressida, Briseida does not immediately cast off the love token of Troilus. Diomedes has to work to convince her of his love and only then does she give him her sleeve (not Troilus's). In Geoffrey Chaucer's poem Troilus and Criseyde, Cressida, now called Criseyde, is also depicted in a more sympathetic manner than how she would be by Shakespeare.
Cressida's history is much shorter than Troilus, but her story evolved much more quickly, from that of a woman forced into a bad circumstance, to that of a faithless woman, undeserving of Troilus's love.
Sources:
Boitani, Piero. The European Tragedy of Troilus. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Shakespeare, William. Troilus and Cressida. Stephen Orgel, Ed. Penguin Books, 2000.
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