SOURCE: "Troilus and Cressida, " in All of Shakespeare, Columbia University Press, 1993, pp. 85-94.

In the following essay, Charney assesses the indeterminate character of Troilus and Cressida, stating that "the play is irritating and unsatisfying, and this may be its modern attraction when other plays seem to yield up a more rational and more coherent response."

Everything about this play is puzzling. It was originally intended to be printed in the Folio in the section of tragedies after Romeo and Juliet, and about three pages were printed before it was withdrawn and replaced by a much shorter play, Timon of Athens. Presumably there were difficulties over copyright. It was then printed, later than everything else in the Folio, without page numbers (with the exception of one page) and placed between Henry VIII, the last play in the Histories section, and Coriolanus, the first play in the Tragedies. It is...