The thesis focuses on the comparison of Homer's Odysseus in the epics The Iliad and The Odyssey and Shakespeare's Ulysses in his problem play Troilus and Cressida. The first part examines the problematics of heroism in Troilus and Cressida and how Shakespeare's degradation of Homeric values affected Ulysses' character. We move on to the comparison of different aspects of Shakesepeare's Ulysses and those of the archetype. The observations are supported by examples from Homer's epics and other preserved myths about the Trojan war (The Epic Cycle). The second part of the thesis consists of the analyse of two Ulysses' speeches - the famous speech on degree and his speech on time. While a lot of critics claim that Shakespeare used Ulysses as a spokesman for the Elizabethan world view, regarding the play as a whole shows that Ulysses does not necessarily apply Elizabethan rules to himself. The thesis also reflects on the importance of public opinion in Shakespeare's Troy, the success of Ulysses' stratagems and the interference of gods in compared works.
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