The Gauntlet of Mars, the Glove of Venus: A Reading of William Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida

Abstract

At the heart of this reading is an analysis of the ways in which Shakespeare structures the plot of Troilus and Cressida, and of how he treats the source material at his disposal. The omissions and additions that Shakespeare makes to the generic and confusing myths must be examined carefully: the essay newly considers the choices that the playwright made in order to select from the stories known to his time the material that would be useful for the composition of his plot.