Troilus and Cressida (Shakespeare)
Short summary
Troy, during the Trojan War. The Greeks besieged Troy for seven years, seeking to reclaim Helen, who had been taken by Paris. Young prince Troilus fell deeply in love with Cressida and enlisted her uncle Pandarus to help win her affection.
Pandarus arranged a meeting between the lovers, and they spent the night together, pledging eternal faithfulness. Meanwhile, the Greeks agreed to exchange the Trojan prisoner Antenor for Cressida, whose father Calchas had defected to their side.
Troilus was devastated when Cressida was taken to the Greek camp. That same day, Hector challenged the Greeks to single combat, and Ajax was chosen to fight him. The combat ended in a draw when they discovered they were related.
Troilus secretly visited the Greek camp and witnessed Cressida flirting with the Greek warrior Diomedes. She gave Diomedes the love token Troilus had given her. Heartbroken, Troilus watched as
The fractions of her faith, orts of her love,
The fragments, scraps, the bits and greasy relics
Of her o’er-eaten faith, are bound to Diomed.
The next day, battle resumed. Despite warnings from his family, Hector fought bravely but was treacherously killed by Achilles and his Myrmidons when he had removed his armor. Achilles dragged Hector's body behind his horse. Troilus, consumed by grief and rage over both Cressida's betrayal and Hector's death, vowed revenge against the Greeks. The play ended with Pandarus lamenting his fate as a despised go-between.
Detailed summary by acts and scenes
Scene titles are editorial.
Act 1. Love and war in Troy
Scene 1. Troiluss lovesickness and Pandaruss role as go-between
In Troy, during the seventh year of the Greek siege, a young prince prepared to disarm rather than join the day's battle. He confessed to his companion that he found a crueler battle within himself than any fought outside Troy's walls.
His uncle attempted to encourage patience, comparing the pursuit of love to the lengthy process of making bread. The prince grew frustrated, declaring that his heart would break from sighing if he continued to hide his feelings at his father's table. His uncle had been acting as intermediary, but complained of receiving little gratitude for his efforts. When the prince tried to soothe him, the uncle stormed off in apparent anger. News arrived that another prince had returned home wounded from battle. The young lover decided to join the day's fighting after all.
Scene 2. Cressida watches Trojan warriors and hides her feelings
A young woman stood with her servant, watching the Trojan warriors return from battle. Her servant described a Greek warrior of mixed Trojan blood who had struck down the greatest Trojan champion the previous day, causing that champion to fast and wake in shame ever since.
Her uncle arrived and began praising a particular young prince, insisting he surpassed even the great champion in worth. The woman playfully contradicted him at every turn. When the warriors passed by, her uncle pointed out each one. The great champion appeared with his helmet hacked from battle. Then came other princes, and finally the young prince her uncle favored, his sword bloodied and his appearance magnificent. Her uncle declared that this prince, not yet twenty-three, was worth more than all of Greece. The woman countered that the Greeks had a greater warrior. After her uncle left, she revealed in soliloquy that she saw far more worth in the young prince than her uncle's praise suggested, but she would not show her feelings.
Women are angels, wooing:
Things won are done; joy’s soul lies in the doing. ...
Men prize the thing ungain’d more than it is.
Scene 3. Greek council discusses their problems; Hectors challenge
In the Greek camp, the commander-in-chief addressed his princes about their failure to take Troy after seven years. He argued that great enterprises naturally face obstacles, and these trials tested their constancy. An elderly prince agreed, comparing their situation to ships in a storm—only the strong vessels survive the tempest. A cunning strategist then delivered a lengthy speech about the breakdown of order in their ranks.
He explained that their greatest warrior had grown dainty with pride and refused to fight, spending his days in his tent with his companion, mocking the Greek leaders through crude theatrical imitations. This warrior's behavior had infected others with similar pride and insolence.
Take but degree away, untune that string,
And, hark, what discord follows! ...
Strength should be lord of imbecility,
And the rude son should strike his father dead...
A Trojan herald arrived with a challenge from the great Trojan champion. This champion, grown rusty from the long truce, sought single combat with any Greek who held his honor high and loved his mistress truly. The herald declared that if no Greek accepted, the champion would proclaim in Troy that Greek women were not worth fighting for. The Greek leaders accepted the challenge, though they privately schemed to manipulate which warrior would face the Trojan champion, hoping to humble their proudest warrior by selecting another for this honor.
Act 2. Debates and schemes
Scene 1. Ajax beats Thersites; news of Hectors challenge
A deformed and bitter Greek repeatedly insulted a strong but dim-witted warrior, who beat him in response. When the greatest Greek warrior and his companion arrived, the bitter Greek continued his mockery.
The great warrior announced that the Trojan champion would call for single combat the next morning. The dim-witted warrior asked who would answer the challenge, learning it would be decided by lottery.
Scene 2. Trojan council debates keeping Helen
In Troy's palace, the king read the latest Greek demand: return the stolen queen and all damages would be forgiven. The great Trojan champion argued they should surrender her, as she was not worth the Trojan blood spilled in her defense. The young prince passionately disagreed, arguing that honor demanded they keep her since they had collectively approved her abduction.
Why keep we her? the Grecians keep our aunt:
Is she worth keeping? why, she is a pearl,
Whose price hath launch’d above a thousand ships,
And turn’d crown’d kings to merchants.
A prophetess burst in, crying warnings of Troy's destruction. After she left, the champion acknowledged the wisdom of returning the queen by moral law, but declared he would nevertheless fight to keep her for the sake of Trojan honor and dignity.
Scene 3. Greeks plan to use Ajax to humble Achilles
The bitter Greek railed against both the greatest Greek warrior and the dim-witted one, calling them fools. When the great warrior and his companion entered, the bitter one continued his mockery. The Greek leaders arrived seeking the great warrior, but he refused to see them, sending word through his companion that he would not fight. The leaders grew angry at this disrespect. The strategist suggested they praise the dim-witted warrior extravagantly to wound the great warrior's pride.
They lavished praise on the dim-witted warrior, declaring him valiant, wise, and noble. They announced he would fight the Trojan champion, further inflaming his pride while deliberately ignoring the sulking great warrior.
Act 3. Love consummated and pride wounded
Scene 1. Pandarus visits Paris and Helen
The uncle visited a Trojan prince and the stolen Greek queen in their chambers. They bantered playfully about love and music. The uncle requested that if the king summoned the prince to supper, an excuse should be made for the young prince's absence, as he would be dining elsewhere. After singing a song about love's sweet torments, the uncle departed to continue his matchmaking efforts.
Scene 2. Troilus and Cressida confess their love
The young prince waited anxiously in an orchard, giddy with expectation. The uncle brought the young woman to him. She appeared shy and reluctant, but gradually their mutual passion emerged. They exchanged vows of eternal faithfulness. The young prince swore to be as true as truth itself, declaring that lovers in future ages would cite his name as the standard of constancy. The young woman likewise vowed fidelity, saying that if she proved false, let all false women be called by her name. The uncle witnessed their vows and led them to a bedchamber.
...let memory,
From false to false, among false maids in love,
Upbraid my falsehood! ... to stick the heart of falsehood,
“As false as Cressid.”
Scene 3. Greeks snub Achilles to wound his pride
A Trojan priest who had defected to the Greeks requested that the Greeks exchange a Trojan prisoner for his daughter. The Greek leaders agreed and sent a warrior to arrange the exchange. Meanwhile, they planned to pass by the great warrior's tent and deliberately ignore him to wound his pride. As they executed this plan, each Greek leader walked past without acknowledgment. The great warrior grew confused and troubled by this treatment. The strategist remained behind and engaged him in conversation, reading from a book about how a man's worth depends on others' recognition.
Perseverance, dear my lord,
Keeps honour bright: to have done is to hang
Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail
In monumental mockery. Take the instant way...
The strategist explained that the Greeks now worshipped the dim-witted warrior, and that the great warrior's reputation was fading through inaction. He revealed that the Greeks knew of the great warrior's secret love for a Trojan princess, suggesting this romance kept him from battle. The great warrior's companion urged him to fight, warning that his reputation was at stake. The great warrior agreed to invite the Trojan champion to his tent after the combat, hoping to see him unarmed.
Act 4. Separation and combat
Scene 1. Diomedes arrives to exchange Antenor for Cressida
Before dawn, Trojan princes met a Greek warrior who had come to escort the young woman to the Greek camp in exchange for a Trojan prisoner. They discussed the exchange with mixed feelings, knowing the young prince would be devastated by losing his beloved.
Scene 2. Morning after: news of Cressidas departure
The young lovers parted reluctantly at dawn. The uncle arrived and learned of the exchange. He broke the news to the young woman, who declared she would not leave. She wept and protested that she knew no father, only her beloved prince, and that her love was as fixed as the earth's center.
Scene 3. Paris instructs Troilus to escort Cressida
Trojan princes gathered in the street. One instructed the young prince to bring the young woman to the Greek warrior, comparing the moment to a priest offering his own heart at an altar.
Scene 4. Troilus and Cressidas anguished farewell
The lovers shared an anguished farewell. The young prince gave the young woman his sleeve as a token, and she gave him her glove. He warned her that the Greek youths were accomplished and attractive, but urged her to remain true. She promised faithfulness. The Greek warrior arrived to escort her, and the young prince warned him to treat her well or face death. They departed for the Greek camp, where the combat would take place.
Scene 5. Cressida meets the Greeks; Ajax and Hector fight
In the Greek camp, the young woman arrived and was greeted with kisses by the Greek leaders. The strategist observed her flirtatious behavior with disapproval. The Trojan champion arrived for the combat. The dim-witted Greek warrior and the Trojan champion fought briefly before discovering they were cousins through blood. They embraced and ended the combat. The Greek leaders welcomed the Trojan champion warmly. The great Greek warrior examined him closely, declaring he would kill him the next day. The Trojan champion responded with equal defiance. After the Trojans departed for a feast, the young prince asked the strategist where the young woman's father kept his tent, learning she was dining with the Greek warrior who had escorted her.
Act 5. Betrayal and tragedy
Scene 1. Achilles receives Polyxenas letter; feast preparations
The great Greek warrior received a letter from his Trojan love, reminding him of his oath not to fight. He decided to honor this vow despite the upcoming battle. The bitter Greek mocked both sides, observing that the entire war was fought over adultery.
Here is such patchery, such juggling and such knavery! all the argument is a cuckold and a whore; a good quarrel to draw emulous factions and bleed to death upon.
Scene 2. Troilus witnesses Cressidas betrayal with Diomedes
The young prince, accompanied by the strategist and the bitter Greek, secretly watched as the young woman met with the Greek warrior who had escorted her. She flirted with him, gave him the sleeve token her lover had given her, and agreed to meet him again. The young prince watched in anguish, struggling to believe what he saw. After she left, he declared his love had turned to hate for the Greek warrior, vowing to kill him in battle and reclaim the sleeve.
Scene 3. Hector arms for battle despite dire warnings
The Trojan champion's wife and sister begged him not to fight, having dreamed of his death. He refused to listen, declaring that honor was more precious than life. His brother argued that mercy was a vice in war, but the champion maintained his chivalrous principles. The young prince received a letter from the young woman but tore it up, declaring her words meaningless compared to her deeds.
Scene 4. Thersites observes the battle
The bitter Greek watched as the young prince pursued the Greek warrior who now wore the sleeve. The Trojan champion encountered the bitter Greek, who claimed to be a coward and was spared.
Scene 5. Patroclus killed; Achilles arms for revenge
Greek leaders reported that the great warrior's companion had been killed. The great warrior, enraged by this loss, armed himself and entered the battle seeking vengeance, specifically hunting for the Trojan champion.
Scene 6. Troilus and Ajax fight; Hector pursues warrior in fine armor
The young prince fought against the dim-witted Greek warrior. The Trojan champion encountered the great Greek warrior but declined to fight him, noting he was not yet at full strength. The champion then pursued a warrior wearing splendid armor.
Scene 7. Achilles orders Myrmidons to surround Hector
The great Greek warrior commanded his soldiers to surround the Trojan champion when found and strike him down together, decreeing that the great champion must die.
Scene 8. Myrmidons kill the unarmed Hector
The Trojan champion removed his armor to rest after killing the warrior in fine armor. The great Greek warrior and his soldiers found him unarmed. Despite the champion's plea for fair combat, they struck him down. The great warrior ordered the champion's body tied to his horse's tail to be dragged through the field.
Scene 9. Greeks celebrate Hectors death
The Greek leaders heard shouts that the great champion had been slain. They marched to see the great warrior, hoping this victory meant Troy would soon fall.
Scene 10. Trojans mourn; Pandaruss bitter epilogue
The young prince learned of his brother's death and the shameful treatment of his body. He rallied the remaining Trojans, vowing revenge.
Hector is gone:
Who shall tell Priam so, or Hecuba?
Let him that will a screech-owl aye be call’d,
Go in to Troy, and say there, Hector’s dead...
The uncle appeared and tried to speak with the young prince, but was cursed and rejected. Left alone, the uncle delivered a bitter epilogue, lamenting that go-betweens receive no gratitude for their efforts, and promising to bequeath his diseases to the audience.