CRITICISM

Adamson, Jane. “Drama in the Mind: Entertaining Ideas in Troilus and Cressida.” Critical Review 27 (1985): 3-17.

Examines the language of Troilus and Cressida in light of the play's confusing mixture of dramatic and tragic action.

Barfoot, C C. “Troilus and Cressida: ‘Praise Us as We Are Tasted.’” Shakespeare Quarterly 39, No. 1 (Spring 1988): 45-57.

Explores the shifting definition of human values in the play.

Clarke, Larry R. “‘Mars His Heart Inflam'd with Venus’: Ideology and Eros in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida.” Modern Language Quarterly 50, No. 3 (September 1989): 209-26.

Draws comparisons between the Trojans in Troilus and Cressida, whom he sees as representative of the aristocratic class of Renaissance England, and the Greeks, whom he sees as representative of the Renaissance bourgeoisie.

Engle, Lars. “Always Already in the Market: The Politics of Evaluation in Troilus and Cressida.” In Shakespearean Pragmatism: Market of His Time, pp. 147-63. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Argues that Troilus and Cressida is tonally unpleasant because it reflects the economic instability and moral flux of a newly emerging capitalism in Renaissance England.

Greene, Gayle. “Language and Value in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida.” Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 21, No. 2 (Spring 1981): 271-85.

Contends that through the set speeches of Ulysses and the remarks of Troilus in Troilus and Cressida, Shakespeare criticized the disintegration of meaningful language in his own society.

Hillman, Richard. “Troilus and Cressida: Constructing Genre, Truth, and the Self.” In William Shakespeare: The Problem Plays, pp. 17-53. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.

Argues that there are elements of three genres—tragedy, comedy, and satire—in Troilus and Cressida.

Hooker, Deborah A. “Coming to Cressida Through Irigaray.” South Atlantic Quarterly 88, No. 4 (Fall 1989): 899-932.

Describes Cressida as a strong and admirable character who uses her wit as a weapon against male attempts to dominate her.

James, Heather. “‘Tricks We Play on the Dead’: Making History in Troilus and Cressida.” In Shakespeare's Troy: Drama, Politics, and the Translation of Empire, pp. 85-118. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Discusses the ways in which Shakespeare, like his literary and dramatic contemporaries, used the Trojan War and other classics to criticize his own, Renaissance, society.

LaBranche, Linda. “Visual Patterns and Linking Analogues in Troilus and Cressida.” Shakespeare Quarterly 37, No. 4 (Winter 1986): 440-50.

Examines the ways in which Shakespeare deployed visual imagery in the play to depict Cressida and Achilles as more than mere clichés of classical mythology.

Lynch, Stephen J. “Shakespeare's Cressida: ‘A Woman of Quick Sense.’” Philological Quarterly 63, No. 3 (1984): 357-68.

Illustrates the depth and intelligence of Cressida in contrast to other characters in the play.

McCandless, David. “Troilus and Cressida.” In Gender and Performance in Shakespeare's Problem Comedies, pp. 123-66. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.

Identifies Troilus and Cressida as Shakespeare's “most problematic” problem comedy, pointing to the unresolved ending and to the manner in which Helen's perpetual inaccessibility emasculates the male characters.

Muir, Kenneth. Introduction to Troilus and Cressida, by William Shakespeare, edited by Kenneth Muir, pp. 1-40. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982.

Provides an overview of the play, including stage history, sources, and literary interpretations.

Owens, Roger. “The Seven Deadly Sins in the Prologue to Troilus and Cressida.” Shakespeare-Jahrbuch 116 (1980): 85-92.

Asserts that the reference to the Seven Deadly Sins in the prologue lends moral weight to Troilus and Cressida without turning it into a conventional morality play.

Powell, Neil. “Hero and Human: The Problem of Achilles.” Critical Quarterly 21, No. 2 (Summer 1979): 17-28.

Contends that Achilles is the only character in the play who is not trying to be someone or something other than what he is.

Spear, Gary. “Shakespeare's ‘Manly’ Parts: Masculinity and Effeminacy in Troilus and Cressida.” Shakespeare Quarterly 44, No. 4 (Winter 1993): 409-22.

Discusses the ways in which the play reveals that the Renaissance period's focus on masculinity and femininity had more to do with social power than with sexuality.

Thomas, Vivian. “Shakespeare's Use of His Source Material: Troilus and Cressida.” In The Moral Universe of Shakespeare's Problem Plays, pp. 23-61. London: Croom Helm, 1987.

Identifies Shakespeare's main sources for the play as Caxton, Lydgate, and Chapman, and describes the extent to which he relied on each of these sources.