Troilus and Cressida

William ShakespeareProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.2

Word count: 153K 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 ja Cressida by William ShakespeareAuthor: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616,Language: Finnish, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Feb 6, 2006

Editor's review

This is a Finnish translation of Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg. The play occupies a peculiar place in Shakespeare's oeuvre, setting the heroic narrative of the Trojan War alongside romantic betrayal; its tone lies between satire and tragedy, and it casts a cold eye on war, honour and desire. The Finnish translation offers direct material for studying Shakespeare's reception and translation history in the Nordic countries, and is also suited to Finnish readers approaching this play. As a public-domain e-book, it is easy to search and read alongside other texts, but it has no modern scholarly annotation, so readers must supply the character relationships and allusions themselves. It is best read within the framework of the "problem play" rather than as a traditional heroic epic or a pure tragedy of love. For non-Finnish readers, this edition is better suited to translation research than as an introductory text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars studying Shakespeare translation and Nordic reception history
Readers with Finnish reading ability who want to read Shakespeare
Literary researchers interested in the "problem play" and the theme of war satire
Students who need a public-domain Finnish text for linguistic or translation analysis

Not a good fit for

General readers who do not know Finnish and want to read Shakespeare in the original
Readers expecting a traditional heroic epic or a pure tragedy of love
Beginners in Shakespeare who need detailed annotations and introductions

Reading tips

First learn the background of the Trojan War and the relationships among the main characters, then begin reading the dialogue.
Read it alongside the English original or a Chinese translation, observing the Finnish translator's word choices.
Separate the love plot from the war plot, noting how the two satirise each other.
After reading, look up the play's place in the classification of Shakespeare's works and understand the controversy over the "problem play".

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 book in English or Finnish?

This is a Finnish translation, in Finnish. It is not suitable as material for reading the English original, but is better for Finnish readers or those working on translation and reception history.

Is Troilus and Cressida a tragedy or a comedy?

The play is often classified as a "problem play", combining elements of satire, comedy and tragedy, and is hard to categorise simply. Its attitude towards war and love is somewhat cold, and traditional categories do not fully apply.

Does this edition have annotations and an introduction?

As a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg, this edition generally contains no modern scholarly annotations or introduction. Readers must supply the mythological background, character relationships and textual information themselves.

Can I use this edition if I don't know Finnish?

It can serve as comparative material for translation research, but is not suitable for direct reading. If you only want to understand the plot, choose the English original or an annotated Chinese translation, and consult this edition for language comparison.

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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.