Troilus and Cressida is Shakespeare's "problem" play about the Trojan War. As the opening Chorus tells us, the play begins in the middle of the epic conflict, and counterpoints the drama of battle with the romance of the title characters. Just as Agamemnon and his Greek forces attempt to woo the invincible Achilles to resume fighting on their side, the Trojan go between Pandarus tries to bring together Troilus, a son of King Priam, with his niece, the lovely Cressida. Life of William Shakespeare is a biography of William Shakespeare by the eminent critic Sidney Lee. This book was one of the first major biographies of the Bard of Avon. It was published in 1898, based on the article contributed to the Dictionary of National Biography. William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, the authorship of some of which is uncertain. Sir Sidney Lee (1859 – 1926) was an English biographer and critic. He was a lifelong scholar and enthusiast of Shakespeare. His article on Shakespeare in the fifty-first volume of the Dictionary of National Biography formed the basis of his Life of William Shakespeare. This full-length life is often credited as the first modern biography of the poet.

シェイクスピアの「問題劇」として名高い本作は、トロイア戦争という英雄叙事詩の裏側に潜む人間の浅ましさと、価値の不確かさを冷徹な筆致で描き出しています。甘美なロマンスを期待する読者の予想を裏切り、愛さえも政治や時間の奔流に呑み込まれていく様は、現代の私たちが抱く不条理にも通じる、鋭い文学的洞察に満ち溢れています。 登場人物たちの言葉に宿る、哲学的なまでの修辞と皮肉な諧虐こそが本作の真髄です。理想が崩れ去り、神話的な英雄たちが泥臭いエゴを露呈させる過程は、単なる悲劇を超えた凄まじい真実味を放ちます。シェイクスピアが仕掛けたこの「解けない問い」の迷宮に足を踏み入れるとき、読者は人間の本質という深淵を覗き込むことになるでしょう。