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      Shakespeare's deconstruction of exempla in Troilus and Cressida

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      EWightmanThesis.pdf (249.4Kb)
      Date
      2005-08-30
      Author
      Wightman, Elizabeth Laura
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
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      Abstract
      Literature and theatre have traditionally used exempla based on historical or classical models as a fundamentally conservative rhetorical technique which aimed to reinforce pre-existing values. However, in the early modern period the reproduction of exemplary figures on stage also created the possibility that the authority of the dominant culture could be used to reinterpret exempla and the tradition they represented. In Troilus and Cressida, instead of presenting an internally consistent alternative version of the Troy story, Shakespeare presents a deconstructed narrative in which nothing is definitive or authoritative. Many of Troilus and Cressida’s characters were traditionally presented as exempla, but in Shakespeare’s story they are divided between the exemplary self and the actual. Shakespeare reproduces and enhances the contradictions of earlier versions of the Troy story, so that the exempla which are supposed to signify a singular virtue instead point to a confusing variety of possible motives and interpretations. Their behaviour is indefinitely open to reinterpretation and resists a singular meaning. Cressida’s inherently divided and contradictory nature undermines her traditional position as a negative exemplum with a clear, singular meaning. The contradiction she embodies also applies to the play as a whole. The limited viewpoint the audience is given in Troilus and Cressida and the ambiguity of the characters undermine both specific examples of exemplarity and broader ideas about the value of exempla. The play works to create confusion and multiplicity of meaning, posing questions for the audience to consider rather than providing definitive answers.
      Degree
      Master of Arts (M.A.)
      Department
      English
      Program
      English
      Supervisor
      Nelson, Brent
      Committee
      Thorpe, Douglas; Pfeifer, Karl; Cooley, Ronald W.
      Copyright Date
      August 2005
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-09012005-205905
      Subject
      renaissance drama
      early modern drama
      problem play
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