We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

Troilus and Cressida Themes

Troilus and Cressida Themes

Warfare

Shakespeare may have used Homer's account of the Trojan War as a major literary source, but warfare in Troilus and Cressida is far from epic or heroic. Seven years into the war, the Greek camp is...

Love

If Troilus and Cressida had a 21st century theme song it would probably be "We Found Love in a Hopeless Place." (Forget about the disturbing music video and the whole Rihanna / Chris Brown scandal...

Principles

Honor and principles? No such thing. In Troilus and Cressida, Shakespeare flips classic ideas about honor, valor, chivalry, and romance on their heads. Troilus and Cressida shows us a world that...

Philosophical Viewpoints

Buying, selling, trading, and commerce. That's what makes the world go round in this play, and not the so-called heroic deeds of men. In Troilus and Cressida, the Greeks and Trojans tend to treat...

Politics (vs. Personal Life)

If you've read what we have to say about the themes of "Love" and Warfare," then you already know that one's political duty can often interfere with one's personal relationships in this play. Troil...

Art and Culture

So, you probably noticed all the shout-outs to actors, play-going audiences, and even the Globe Theater. What's up with that? Well, like a lot of Shakespeare's dramas, Troilus and Cressida is real...

Time

Troilus and Cressida is obsessed with the passage of time. When the play opens, we get the sense that time has been moving at a snail's pace for those who have endured seven long, drawn out years...

Gender

In the world of Troilus and Cressida, men and women are expected to behave according to the kinds of gender roles that were typical in Elizabethan England at the time Shakespeare was writing this...