Troilus and Cressida at American Shakespeare Center

Shakespeare's source material for Troilus and Cressida was Homer's The Iliad, which recounts the Trojan War, society's first major conflict. As the legend goes, the beautiful Helen, a Greek, fell in love with Paris, a visiting Trojan warrior. They eloped and her husband, Menelaus, and the Greek Army go to war against the Trojans.

Shakespeare mixed Homer's tale with Chaucer's poem, Troilus and Criseyde, ending up with a story of two lovers who are trying to be together amid an endless war that is robbing all involved of their humanity. His play starts seven years into the 10-year conflict, when many of the soldiers are sick of it all.