On Sunday March 1, 2026, The Rising Tide Foundation hosted the poet, philosopher, lawyer and essayist Carey Jobe in an examination of Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy ‘Troilus and Cresida’.
Written in the early 1600s, at roughly the same time as Hamlet and King Lear, Troilus and Cressida is one of Shakespeare’s most challenging plays. It is not tragedy—neither of the title characters dies. Nor is it comedy—there is no happy ending. Even the title derives not from the main story but from the subplot: the love of Troilus and Cressida, their romance brokered by Cressida’s gossipy uncle Pandarus.
Their story takes place against the backdrop of the Trojan War, the epic struggle of Greeks and Trojans for Helen, wife of Menelaus, after her abduction by Paris, brother of Troilus. Shakespeare chose the greatest legend of Western literature to write what amounts to a recantation of themes of heroism and love he brought to the stage only a few years before. Anyone attending a performance of Henry V sees a glorious hero fighting for a righteous cause. Romeo and Juliet fills the viewer with the splendor of love.
These are plays that affirm ideals. But theatergoers leave a performance of Troilus and Cressida unsure what they have seen, how they are supposed to react—their expectations from the conventions of heroism and love are thwarted in almost every scene. What universal lessons and insights into universal history did Shakespeare embed in this immortal story? Find out by watching this lecture.
Speaker bio: Carey Jobe is a retired attorney and judge. Prior to beginning his legal career, he was a student of Classical Literature and Latin Language. His Latin translations have appeared in The Classical Outlook, the journal of The American Classical Society. He is also a widely published poet whose work regularly appears in numerous literary journals. He lives and writes near Tallahassee, Florida.
Resources:
Troilus Cressida 1981 – BBC performance https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview…
Read Carey Jobe’s essay upon which this lecture was based here: https://ageofmuses.substack.com/p/mon…
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