Troilus and Cressida

William ShakespeareProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 160K words
Chapters: 16

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Troilus and Cressida by William ShakespeareAuthor: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jun 1, 1999

Editor's review

Troilus and Cressida is the hardest of Shakespeare's problem plays to classify: it draws on the legend of the Trojan War, yet centers on camp politics, love betrayed, and verbal fencing, deliberately blurring the line between tragedy and satirical comedy. The play contains both the emotional reversals of Troilus and Cressida and a group portrait of scheming around Achilles, Hector, and the Greek commanders; its language is dense and its irony layered, and it is often regarded as Shakespeare's most unsparing dismantling of the "heroic narrative." This electronic text from Project Gutenberg is the English original without modern annotations, so readers must handle the vocabulary and syntax of early modern English themselves. It suits readers who have already read several Shakespeare plays and wish to explore their grayer regions, as well as theater scholars doing close reading against different editions. If brisk plotting is your standard, this book may frustrate; but for those willing to accept a work that refuses moral consolation, it offers considerable room for thought.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who have read several Shakespeare plays and wish to go deeper into the problem plays
Literature enthusiasts interested in the Trojan legend and the deconstruction of war narrative
Students of drama and English literature who need to close-read the original text
Readers who enjoy sharp dialogue and irony and can accept an ambiguous ending

Not a good fit for

Beginners encountering Shakespeare for the first time who need annotations and introductions
Readers expecting a romantic love story or a heroic epic ending
General audiences who need a modern Chinese translation or a stage adaptation

Reading tips

Before reading, clarify the lists of principal characters on the Greek and Trojan sides to avoid confusing the camps
Trace the love plot and the camp-politics plot separately, then observe how the two undermine each other
Slow down at dense passages of verbal fencing and mark where irony and puns occur
After finishing, compare with an annotated edition to fill in mythological background and difficult word meanings

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this play a tragedy or a comedy?

It is usually classified as a "problem play," with elements of both tragedy and satirical comedy. The play contains both emotional rupture and death, and a great deal of mocking dialogue and anti-heroic treatment; the ending offers no traditional moral resolution. Readers should enter with open genre expectations.

Can I understand it without having read Homer?

Yes. Although the play draws on the Trojan War legend, the character relationships are largely self-contained within the play. Still, knowing the general background of Achilles, Hector, and others makes it easier to appreciate the play's rewriting and irony of heroic figures; ten minutes spent on a plot summary beforehand is enough.

Does this electronic edition have annotations and an introduction?

Project Gutenberg releases the English original text, generally without modern scholarly annotation or introduction. Readers need their own dictionary or an annotated print edition for comparison; those unfamiliar with early modern English should read an annotated edition first and then return to the original.

Why is it said to dismantle the heroic narrative?

The Greek commanders are often portrayed as men jockeying for power, shifting blame, and acting on personal pique; the course of the war is driven by private passions, and the love plot ends in betrayal. This treatment diminishes the heroic aura of traditional epic and makes it hard for readers to take sides simply, which is precisely the play's controversy and charm.

Comments

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About the author

William Shakespeare Author · English · 1564–1616

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was the greatest playwright, poet and actor of the English Renaissance. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, he is known as the "Bard of Avon." He wrote roughly thirty-seven to thirty-nine plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets and narrative poems. His representative works include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. His works span tragedy, comedy and history play, distinguished by rich, poetic language and profound characterization. His explorations of human nature, power, love and fate have had a lasting influence, and his works have been translated into many languages and circulated widely around the world.