On Ludism In Shakespeare’s Troilus And Cressida

Troilus and Cressida was written by Shakespeare in his middle career. After its publication, this work received all sorts of disputes from the public. Modern critics generally consider it as a great tragedy and rank it as Shakespeare’s fifth tragedy following closely after ‘the greatest four’. This tragedy adapted from Homer’s Epic and Medieval Romances. Although it has been deeply studied and highly praised by literary critics both at home and aboard, focus has been mostly put on its genre and themes. Such textures in the text as the ludicrous elements all over the lines, however, have long been neglected.All the ludicrous elements contrive ‘ludism’ or ‘playfulness’ of the text. It has been generally considered that ludism cannot be crossed out in a comedy. In a tragedy, however, it refers to a comedic way by the author to cope with tragic figures and the drama itself. Based on the discussion of the playful parts in the text, the paper gives a deep interpretation to the humorous art of Shakespeare and discusses systematically the unique features and functions of ludism in a tragic work. By close reading, the author argues that Shakespeare employs such techniques as word play, irony, and parody with great originality which contribute to ludism within the text not only for characterization and plots, but for revealing anti-war implication and hierarchical views of his own in a unique way.The thesis is composed of three parts: The first part is an introductory one. It contains a brief introduction to Shakespeare and his work Troilus and Cressida, and then a brief review of this drama is presented. The second part is the body which discusses the text from three aspects. The first chapter deals with different tropes as ludism which includes a parody to Iliad and a mock epic of Chaucer’s homonymous poem, puns for comic purpose and tragic ironies as a satirical device. The second chapter focuses on carnivalization as ludism, which is based on Mikhail Bakhtin’s dialogic and carnivalesque theories. The third part moves on the specific and stylistic functions of ludism. The third part is the conclusion and it restates that ludism is not only present in the play tangled by war and love, but endows the drama and the characters with a more tragic color. At the same time, Shakespeare employs a unique and implied way to present his anti-war views and hierarchical consciousness.