Troilus and Cressida:Program of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 1972.
"Il Filostrato" is a poem by Boccaccio, that inspired Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde and, through Chaucer, provided a source for the Shakespeare play Troilus and Cressida. It is itself loosely based on Le Roman De Troie, by 12th century Benoît de Sainte-Maure. The poem's relevance to the play appears in this summary of Boccaccio's narrative, as follows:
Calcas, a Trojan prophet, has foreseen the fall of the city and joined the Greeks. His daughter, Criseida, is protected by Hector. Troilo sees a young widow in mourning: Criseida. Troilo falls in love with her but sees no sign of her similar feelings in her, despite his efforts in the battles before Troy. Troilo's close friend Pandaro is a cousin of Criseida, senses something is distressing him. Pandarus finds out the reason and agrees to act as go-between. And Troilo, eventually wins Criseida's hand. During a truce, Calcas persuades the Greeks to propose a hostage exchange: Criseida for Antenor. Troilo suggests elopement, but Criseida argues that he should not abandon Troy. Instead she promises to meet him in ten days' time. The Greek hero Diomedes sees the parting looks of the two lovers but he falls in love with Criseida, and seduces her. She misses the appointment with Troilo but she sends letters that pretend a continuing love for Troilo. His brother DeÃfobo returns from battle with Diomedes; carrying a garment with a clasp that belonged to Criseida. Troilo, infuriated, goes into battle to seek out Diomedes, killing a thousand men. He and Diomedes fight many times, vainly trying to kill each other until Troilo's life is ended by Achilles. Picture and data courtesy of the Yorck Project, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (Wikipedia). © Oregon Shakespeare Festival, courtesy of Internet Shakespeare Editions (U. of Victoria, B.C., Canada.
