Comedy and Tragedy? Shakespeare's *Troilus and Cressida*, *Measure for Measure*

Shakespeare learned during his early career in the 1590s to be a great generic engineer, testing forms to breaking-point and playing with audience expectations. These two plays from the middle of his career signal a new radicalism of experiment, exploring the boundaries of tragedy and comedy, anticipating later work, and providing a challenge that actors and directors still relish; this course will look at both closely, in themselves and in context, to see what he was about and how he did it.

Aims 

This course aims to:  

• promote understanding of Shakespeare as a great generic engineer  
   
• focus closely on two plays defying easy generic categorisation  
   
• situate both within Shakespeare’s career and dramatic landscape as well as their modern critical reception 

Content 

We begin by thinking about the earlier part of Shakespeare’s career in the London theatre of the 1590s, from the wild excesses of the cannibal banquet in Titus Andronicus and the multiplication of lovers in comedy, through the turning-point of achieving secure status as a sharer in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men to the increasingly ambitious generic engineering that followed in the pairing of Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and in the histories. 

Troilus and Cressida is of uncertain date, but usually believed to have been performed in 1601–02, perhaps as an intervention in the ‘Poetomachia’. However that maybe it is a dark and curious play, set far back in time yet full of neologisms, that radically undermines received history, leaving almost no-one’s reputation unscathed while steadfastly refusing either to kill off its young protagonists (though not others) or to provide a happy ending amid its scabrous commentaries. Found thoroughly dubious by everyone from Dryden to F S Boas (who unhelpfully mislabelled it as a problem play), it achieved real popularity only in the 20th century, which found its anti-war sentiments exact to modern needs. 

Measure, for Measure (the comma is in the Folio title) was performed at court in 1604, and probably premiered in that year. Like Troilus it refuses its required generic ending in the principals’ marriage, but surrounds that uncertainty with shotgun marriages, a wrongly prosecuted clandestine marriage, a dubiously pardoned murderer, and both a bed-trick and a mock-death. Either Shakespeare’s last or penultimate comedy, its biting humour sustained it into the 18th century, but its frank sexuality horrified the 19th, and while now again popular, laughter is rarely achieved as it should be in performance. 

The final session will be a plenary, but will also look to what Shakespeare did next, in the closing phases of his career, as tragicomedy eclipsed comedy and his tragedies rang with savage laughter. 

Presentation of the course  

Each session will begin with a mini-lecture, lasting 30–45 mins, and subsequently open to question and answer, and contributions by all. A PowerPoint presentation may also be used. 

Course sessions 

 The London theatre & Shakespeare’s career in the 1590s.  

1. Troilus and Cressida: abrupting tragedy.  
    
2. Measure, for Measure 1: marriage-law and bed-tricks. 
    
3. Measure, for Measure 2: abrupting comedy.  
    
4. The London theatre & Shakespeare’s career in the 1600s. 

Learning outcomes 

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course.  

The learning outcomes for this course are:  

• an understanding of tragedy and comedy as companionate, not opposites  
   
• an understanding of Shakespeare as a great generic engineer  
   
• the historical and theatrical contextualisation of his radical mid-career experiments 

Required reading 

Shakespeare, William, Troilus and Cressida, Bevington, David, editor, (Arden 1998, revised edition 2015) ISBN: 9781472584748 

Shakespeare, William, Measure for Measure, Braunmuller A R and Watson Robert, N, editors,  (Arden 2020) ISBN: 9781904271437 

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.