Telling and Foretelling in Troilus and Cressida

This article proposes a stylistic reading of Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, aiming to show how dramatic and narrative elements are interwoven as a way of dealing with the weighty literary tradition behind the play. The analysis briefly outlines stage history and use of sources, before going on to consider such traditionally narrative elements as the play’s prologue and epilogue, subsequently focalizing themes dealing with gossip, false narrative, and mistrust, analysed at a linguistic and rhetorical level. It is suggested that the allusions of the 1609 Qb preface to the reader, which indicated that the play had never been performed and was offered up as reading material and as a fresh chapter in the literary history of the Troy subject matter, while not to be taken literally with regard to Shakespeare’s intentions, should be treated as a serious possibility from the point of view of audience reception.