Troilus and Criseyde : Key info
Troilus and Criseyde is a notable literary work by Geoffrey Chaucer. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of Troilus and Criseyde.
Key info
Writer: Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)
Written Time: Mid-1380s
Source: “Il Filostrato,” a narrative poem by the Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio.
Tone: Tragic
Date of Publication: 1386
Genre: Medieval romance, Epic poem, Tragedy, and Courtly Love literature.
Lines: 8239
Parts/ Books: 5
Narrator: Pandarus (Uncle of Criseyde)
Point of View: An omniscient third-person narrator
Written style: The poem is written in rhyme royal, a seven-line stanza with a rhyme scheme of ABABBCC.
Setting:
Place Setting: Troy
Time Setting: During the Trojan War
Background: Troilus and Criseyde is a story written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1380s. It is based on an older Italian poem, “Il Filostrato”, by Boccaccio (1313-75). The story takes place during the Trojan War, a famous event in Greek mythology. Troilus, a prince of Troy, falls in love with Criseyde, a young widow. They share a deep love, but their happiness is short-lived because Criseyde is sent to the Greek camp. There, she falls in love with another man, Diomede, and betrays Troilus.
Moral lesson:
- Love is fragile and uncertain.
- Fate controls all beyond our will.