Troilus and Cressida

by Shakespeare

First published 1609

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During the long siege of Troy, the Trojan prince Troilus falls in love with Cressida and the two pledge themselves to one another. Their relationship is interrupted when Cressida is exchanged to the Greek camp, where she faces a new political and social environment and Troilus witnesses evidence that he interprets as betrayal.

Around the lovers, the heroic leaders of the Trojan War are shown through rivalry, argument and failed ideals. Achilles, Hector, Agamemnon, Odysseus and others appear in a deliberately sceptical version of epic warfare. Shakespeare turns the familiar legend into a study of reputation, appetite and the gap between heroic language and destructive behaviour.