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Troilus and Cressida is one of Shakespeare's least popular, least performed plays, and there are a multitude of reasons why that might be. None of the characters are particularly likeable. The various plots are mercenary, cruel, and violent. And it's certainly not the easiest play to classify, and it has baffled scholars since Shakespearean scholars first emerged: it is absolutely one of Shakespeare's "problem plays", defying all attempts at categorization.
But does it deserve to be cast aside and ignored as it has been for these reasons?
Today we discuss the various issues in this play and try to discover if there is redemption for one of Shakespeare's most confusing plays. Is it a postmodern masterpiece? Does it have anything to tell us about capitalism? Is our inability to pigeonhole this play one of its strengths?
Ancient Bickerings
Can this play be salvaged? Or does it even need to be salvaged?
Notes:
- Some scholars list The Merchant of Venice as a problem play, so technically Lindsay misspoke when she called this the first problem play we have discussed.
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Troilus and Cressida is one of Shakespeare's least popular, least performed plays, and there are a multitude of reasons why that might be. None of the characters are particularly likeable. The various plots are mercenary, cruel, and violent. And it's certainly not the easiest play to classify, and it has baffled scholars since Shakespearean scholars first emerged: it is absolutely one of Shakespeare's "problem plays", defying all attempts at categorization.
But does it deserve to be cast aside and ignored as it has been for these reasons?
Today we discuss the various issues in this play and try to discover if there is redemption for one of Shakespeare's most confusing plays. Is it a postmodern masterpiece? Does it have anything to tell us about capitalism? Is our inability to pigeonhole this play one of its strengths?
Ancient Bickerings
Can this play be salvaged? Or does it even need to be salvaged?
Notes:
- Some scholars list The Merchant of Venice as a problem play, so technically Lindsay misspoke when she called this the first problem play we have discussed.