A review by steven_nobody
Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare
1.0
Comedy, Tragedy, Confusing? Samuel Coleridge wrote, in 1811, “There is no one of Shakespeare’s plays harder to characterise.” Agreed. I have the biggest problems with this problem play.
This is Shakespeare’s Iliad fanfiction. In Homer, Achilles has given up fighting because of hurt feelings and sulks in his tent with his boyfriend, Petroclus. It is only when Patroclus is killed by the Trojan prince, Hector, that Achilles goes out and kills Hector. Shakespeare turns the story cynical. The Greeks assassinate Patroclus and tell Achilles it was Hector, and then Achilles uses his troops to pile on Hector and kill him.
The characters of Troilus and Cressida were not really much a part of the original story but developed in the Middle Ages. It’s a story about Troilus hooking up with Cressida with Pandar as a go-between. He’s her uncle and plays the pimp, which is why we have the verb “to pander” which means to pimp (not what I thought it meant because I thought it meant “to flatter” but silly me). When the lovers get separated, she adapts and vanishes from the stage, while he gets upset and runs around a lot in the battle neither distinguishing himself nor dying.
The first production after Shakespeare’s life wasn’t until 1898, so it was never a favorite of anyone.
I’m not sure if the vocabulary was easier if I would have enjoyed it better because it wasn’t all that interesting. Actually, the best thing about the RSC production was the beefcake even if looking at hard bodies does get boring after a while.
This is Shakespeare’s Iliad fanfiction. In Homer, Achilles has given up fighting because of hurt feelings and sulks in his tent with his boyfriend, Petroclus. It is only when Patroclus is killed by the Trojan prince, Hector, that Achilles goes out and kills Hector. Shakespeare turns the story cynical. The Greeks assassinate Patroclus and tell Achilles it was Hector, and then Achilles uses his troops to pile on Hector and kill him.
The characters of Troilus and Cressida were not really much a part of the original story but developed in the Middle Ages. It’s a story about Troilus hooking up with Cressida with Pandar as a go-between. He’s her uncle and plays the pimp, which is why we have the verb “to pander” which means to pimp (not what I thought it meant because I thought it meant “to flatter” but silly me). When the lovers get separated, she adapts and vanishes from the stage, while he gets upset and runs around a lot in the battle neither distinguishing himself nor dying.
The first production after Shakespeare’s life wasn’t until 1898, so it was never a favorite of anyone.
I’m not sure if the vocabulary was easier if I would have enjoyed it better because it wasn’t all that interesting. Actually, the best thing about the RSC production was the beefcake even if looking at hard bodies does get boring after a while.