Essays on Troilus and Cressida

In many ways, Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida and Measure for Measure are examples of his "problem plays" that are concerned with self-division and lack of self-knowledge. The former play deals with the duality of the characters and it is in the knowledge or lack of knowledge in this duality between the characters which makes it a problem play. Self-division is also implicit in the latter play, where the characters are forced to confront their different natures due to a crisis which is set ...

A problem play is a play in which the playwright portrays the social, political and economic problems of the society he lives in. The problem play is a development form of the ‘drama of ideas'(Drama of ideas is a type of discussion play in which the most acute problems of social and personal morality is revealed). It is tragic in tone and deals with human dilemmas along with the social evils, i.e., it is a play in which a problem is discussed in all its aspects. The actors in a problem play ...

The love story between Troilus, the Trojan prince, and the maiden Cressida is only one of the two major plot lines in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. However, the actions of Troilus and Cressida seem more poignant because they deal closely with the concept of human values and virtues. Indeed, it seems that the love story between these two provides an overarching metaphor for the second plot line, that of the Trojan War. While the scenes portraying the war are effective in their own right, ...

The Bell Shakespeare Company s play Troilus+Cressida Directed by Michael Bogdanov is an example of the many re-skinned Shakespearean plays that emerge out of obscurity to challenge social mores in modern society. Troilus+Cressida, based in the 10 year war for a whore (Helen played by Helen Thompson) between the citizens of Troy and the Greeks, encompasses two contrasting notions of Love and War. These combine to create a world that does away with and is displaced from a normal world. ...