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Article: POETRY Seamus Heaney has brought the work of an overshadowed 15th- century poet into the light, finds Jonathan Bate
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- July 12, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The Testament of Cresseid and Seven Fables by Robert Henryson
Tr by Seamus Heaney
FABER, pounds 12.99, 183 pp
One of the most intriguing things about Shakespeare's dark,
complex play Troilus and Cressida is its combination of Classical
and medieval materials. The setting of the drama is the Trojan War -
the rival heroes Achilles and Hector, the argument over Helen, the
wisdom of Nestor - but the story of the love between Troilus and
Cressida does not have a precedent in The Iliad. Although
Shakespeare was steered towards Trojan subject matter by the
publication of a translation of Homer in 1598, he read about
Cressida's betrayal of Troilus in another book published that year:
a new edition ...