ABSTRACT
Unlike the other plays in this volume, Troilus and Cressida is not formally classified as a tragedy, since its eponymous hero and heroine are left alive at the end. It lends itself perfectly, however, to a systemic approach. As well as providing two scenes of compelling family interaction, Shakespeare displays his irreverence towards ideals of heroic individualism and emphasises the gulf between aspirations, rhetoric and actions. To sustain multiple perspectives and demonstrate connections, he makes use of debates, and processes of mirroring and reflection. His protagonists move between conveying a sense of time as frozen and suspended and an equally acute sense of the waxing and waning over time of fame, fortune and emotional bonds.
