The Tragedy (or History) of Troilus and Cressida, often shortened to Troilus and Cressida ( or ),Stage director John Barton notes that, should the metre demand it, Troilus should be pronounced with three syllables: is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602.
At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. Meanwhile, the Greeks endeavour to lessen the pride of Achilles.
The tone alternates between bawdy comedy and tragic gloom. Readers and theatre-goers have frequently found it difficult to understand how they are meant to respond to the characters. Frederick S. Boas has labelled it one of Shakespeare's problem plays. It is the subject of lively critical debate.
Characters
The Trojans Priam, King of Troy Priam's children: Cassandra (a prophetess), Hector, Troilus, Paris, Deiphobus, Helenus, and Margarelon (bastard) Andromache, Hector's wife Aeneas, a commander and leader Antenor, another commander Calchas, a Trojan priest who is taking part with the Greeks Cressida, Calchas's daughter Alexander, servant to Cressida Pandarus, Cressida's uncle
The Greeks Agamemnon, King of the Greeks and leader of the Greek invasion Achilles, prince Ajax, prince Diomedes, prince Nestor, wise and talkative prince Ulysses, King of Ithaca (In some editions, the character is referred to as Odysseus.) Menelaus, King of Sparta, brother to Agamemnon Helen, wife to Menelaus, living with Paris Thersites, a deformed and scurrilous low-class "fool" Patroclus, lover of Achilles
Plot
Synopsis Troilus and Cressida is set during the later years of the Trojan War, faithfully following the plotline of the Iliad from Achilles' refusal to participate in battle to Hector's death. Essentially, two plots are followed in the play. In one, Troilus, a Trojan prince (son of Priam), woos Cressida, another Trojan. They profess their undying love, before Cressida is exchanged for a Trojan prisoner of war. As he attempts to visit her in the Greek camp, Troilus glimpses Diomedes flirting with his beloved Cressida, and decides to avenge her perfidy.
While this plot gives the play its name, it accounts for only a small part of the play's run time. The majority of the play revolves around the leaders of the Greek and Trojan forces, Agamemnon and Priam, respectively. Agamemnon and his cohorts attempt to get the proud Achilles to return to battle and face Hector, who sends the Greeks a letter telling them of his willingness to engage in one-on-one combat with a Greek soldier. Ajax is originally chosen as this combatant, but makes peace with Hector before they are able to fight. Achilles is prompted to return to battle only after his lover Patroclus is killed by Hector before the Trojan walls. A series of skirmishes conclude the play, during which Achilles catches Hector and has the Myrmidons kill him. The conquest of Troy is left unfinished, as the Trojans learn of the death of their hero.
Act 1
Scene 1 The play opens with a Prologue, an actor dressed as a soldier, who gives the background to the plot, which takes place during the Trojan War. Immortalized in Greek mythology and Homer's Iliad, the war occurs because a Trojan prince, Paris, has stolen the beautiful Helen from her husband, King Menelaus of Sparta, and carried her home to Troy with him. In response, Menelaus gathers his fellow Greek kings, and they sail to Troy hoping to capture the city and reclaim Helen.
Within the walls of Troy, Prince Troilus complains to Pandarus that he is unable to fight because of heartache; he is desperately in love with Pandarus's niece, Cressida. Pandarus complains that he has been doing his best to further Troilus's pursuit of his niece, and that he has received small thanks for his labors. After he departs, Troilus remarks that Pandarus has been growing irritable lately. As he ponders, the Trojan commander Aeneas comes in, bringing news that Paris has been wounded in combat with Menelaus. As the noise of battle comes in offstage, Troilus agrees to join his Trojan comrades on the field.
Scene 2 In another part of the city, Cressida converses with her servant, who recounts how a Greek warrior named Ajax, a valiant but stupid man, managed to overcome the great Trojan prince Hector the previous day, and that Hector is fighting furiously because of this defeat. Cressida is joined by Pandarus, and they discuss the Trojan princes, with Pandarus taking the unlikely position that Troilus is a greater man than Hector. As they converse, several Trojan lords pass by them returning from battle, including Antenor, Aeneas, Hector, and Paris; Pandarus praises each one, but tells his niece that none of them can match Troilus. He then leaves Cressida, promising to bring a token from Troilus. Alone, Cressida says that while she returns Troilus's feelings, she is holding him off; she is enjoying his pursuit of her.
Scene 3 In the Greek camp, the great general and king Agamemnon is conversing with his lieutenants and fellow kings. He asks why they seem so glum and downcast for although their seven-year siege of Troy has met little success so far, they should welcome the adversity that the long war represents, since only in difficult times can greatness emerge. Nestor, the oldest of the Greek commanders, cites examples of how heroism emerges from hardship. In response, Ulysses expresses his deep respect for what they have said, but points out that the Greek army is facing a crisis not because of the duration of the war, but because of a breakdown in authority within the Greek camp. Instead of being united, they are divided into factions: Achilles refuses to fight, and instead stays in his tent while Patroclus ridicules the Greek commanders; others, like Ajax and his foul-mouthed slave Thersites, follow this example, and so the entire army is corrupted. The others agree that this is a great problem, and as they discuss what is to be done, Aeneas appears under a flag of truce, bringing a challenge from Hector. The Trojan prince offers to fight any Greek lord in single combat, with the honour of their respective wives as the issue. The Greeks agree to find a champion and offer Aeneas hospitality. As Aeneas is led away, Ulysses tells Nestor that this challenge is truly directed at Achilles, since only Achilles could match the great Hector in battle. But to have Achilles fight Hector would be dangerous, because if Achilles lost, it would dishearten the entire army. Therefore, Ulysses suggests, they should have Ajax fight Hector instead; even if Ajax loses, they can still claim that Achilles would have won in his place. At the same time, by choosing Ajax as their champion, they will infuriate Achilles and perhaps goad him into rejoining the war, bringing with him all his soldiers. Nestor, impressed with Ulysses's intelligence, agrees to the plan.
Act 2
Scene 1 In the Greek camp, Ajax summons his slave, Thersites, and orders him to find out the nature of the proclamation that has just been posted. Thersites, a foul-mouthed ruffian, refuses to obey and instead curses his master and the Greeks with equal vigor, provoking Ajax to beat him. Achilles and Patroclus come upon them and he includes them in his curses. Offended at Patroclus' request he stop, he replies "I will hold my peace when Achilles' brooch bids me, shall I?", the term "in the 16th century meant, among other things, a 'pointed rod, spit or pricker, implying that Achilles and Patroclus were lovers. They send him away, and Achilles tells Ajax the news of Hector's challenge to any brave Greek warrior. The selection of the warrior has been put to a lottery otherwise, Achilles says as he leaves, he would have been the only possible choice, a remark that produces a sneer from Ajax.
Scene 2 In Troy, King Priam and his sons debate the wisdom of continuing the war, when they can end it by returning Helen to the Greeks. Hector, supported by his brother Helenus, argues eloquently that while the theft of Helen may have been a brave act, she cannot be worth the great and bloody price they are paying to keep her. When he is done speaking, his sister Cassandra, a prophetess who is considered mad, dashes in and cries that if they do not let Helen go, Troy will burn. When she is gone, Troilus dismisses her warning as ravings, and argues that they must keep Helen for the sake of their honor and Paris supports him. Hector retorts that this is why young men cannot be trusted to make moral decisions, since passion overwhelms their reason. But Troilus says that Helen is more than a woman, she is a theme of honour and renown, and Hector yields and agrees to continue the war. He goes on to report the challenge that has been sent out to the Greeks, and how he hopes it will bring Achilles to the field.
Scene 3 Alone, Thersites sneers at the pretensions of both Ajax and Achilles. When Patroclus and Achilles appear, he calls them fools; Patroclus moves to strike him, but Achilles holds him off. They see the Greek commanders Agamemnon, Ulysses, Nestor, and Diomedes approaching, accompanied by Ajax, and Achilles quickly retires to his tent. When Agamemnon asks to see him, Patroclus tells the general that Achilles is ill. Agamemnon grows angry, but Achilles refuses to emerge, and tells Ulysses, who goes in to see him, that he still refuses to fight the Trojans. Agamemnon suggests that Ajax go in and plead with Achilles, but Ulysses declares that doing so would be insulting to Ajax, and then he, with the other Greek commanders, praises Ajax profusely, saying that he is the best of their warriors. They agree to leave Achilles in his tent, and decide that Ajax will be their champion against Hector the next day.
Act 3
Scene 1 In Troy, Pandarus converses with a servant while he waits to speak with Paris and Helen. When they come in, he compliments Helen profusely, and asks her to make excuses for Troilus if Priam asks about him at dinner that night. Paris and Helen ask where Troilus will be dining, and Pandarus refuses to tell him but they both guess that he will be in pursuit of Cressida, and they make bawdy jokes about it as they depart to greet the returning warriors.
Scene 2 Pandarus finds Troilus pacing about impatiently in an orchard, and assures him that his desire for Cressida will soon be satisfied. He goes out, leaving Troilus giddy with expectation, and brings in Cressida; after urging them to embrace, Pandarus departs. Left alone, they profess their love for one another, and each pledges to be faithful to the other. He reassures her and again pledges to be faithful, declaring that thereafter history will say of all lovers that they were as true as Troilus. Cressida declares that if she ever strays from him, she hopes that people will say of false lovers that they were as false as Cressida. Pandarus declares that if ever the pair prove false, may 'all pitiful goers-between' be called after his name.
Scene 3