Chaucer and Shakespeare

¶ … Troilus and Cressida, characters significant to Homer's depiction of the Trojan War in the epic Iliad by Homer, have been portrayed as different personalities in versions of the play written by Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare. Although the story is just adapted from Homer's epic, the two British writers created and used the lovers' story to make their own interpretation of life during the Trojan War, particularly the depiction of the characters of Troilus and Cressida during this significant period in the history of Western civilization.

In Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, the setting happens in the midst of the Trojan War. Troilus is portrayed as an unloving man, who, after being struck by the curse of love, has loved Criseyde. Criseyde, on the other hand, is portrayed as a playful woman, going out with other men despite Troilus' devotion to her.

The story ends with Troilus' tragic end, leading him to conclude that all women are like Criseyde, who are portrayed as "evil" or "playful" and only causes conflict among men (similar to Helen of Troy's case that brought about the Trojan War). Shakespeare's version of the play, meanwhile, portrays a more romantic and equal characterization of Troilus and Cressida.

Troilus is characterized as a sensitive man who falls in love with Cressida, while Cressida is an intelligent and tempered woman who does not display any kind of flamboyance among men, just like what Chaucer had portrayed Criseyde in his work. Although both Chaucer and Shakespeare's versions of the story happened in the midst of the Trojan War, Shakespeare's version.