Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare Project 2020

T&C is classified as a "problem play" (1 of 3), meaning it has a complex and ambiguous tone which shifts between a dark psychological drama and a comedy.

I struggled with this one only because I was unfamiliar with the subject matter: the 10 year Trojan war between the Greeks and Trojans as well Shakespeare's sources: The Illiad by Homer and Troilus and Criseyde by Chaucer. Otherwise I enjoyed the play, especially the quips and the entertaining coward, Thersites.

There appeared to be many critics of the play, even in my own reading group, but it seems Shakespeare was ready for them.

Prologue: "Beginning in the middle; starting thence away

To what may be digest in a play.

Like or find fault; do as your pleasures are:

Now good or bad, 'tis but the chance of war."

Troilus and Cressida claim to be in love, but don't trust one another:

III.2 Cressida: "Blind fear, that seeing reason leads, finds safer footing than blind reason stumbling without fear. To fear the worst oft cures the worse."

"They say all lovers swear more performance than they are able, and yet reserve an ability that they never perform..."

IV.4 Troilus: "...And sometimes we are devils to ourselves,

When we will tempt the frailty of our powers,

Presuming on their changeful potency."

Ulysses is busy manipulating everyone:

I.3 Ulysses: "When that the General is not like the hive,

To whom the foragers shall all repair,

What honey is expected?"

"Let us like merchants, show our foulest wares

And think perchance they'll sell; if not, the lustre

Of the better yet to show shall show the better,

By showing the worst first."

Meanwhile Thersites is offending everyone and cowardly escaping battle and death:

II.1 Ajax: "...I will beat thee into handsomeness."

Thersites: "I shall sooner rail thee into wit and holiness; but

I think thy horse will sooner con an oration than thou

Learn a prayer without book..."

V.1 Achilles:"How now, thou core of envy!

Thou crusty batch of nature, what's the news?"

Thersites: "Why, thou picture of what thou seemest, and 

idol of idiot worshippers,...Why, thou full dish of fool."

Patroclus: "Why, thou damnable box of envy, thou, what

meanest thou to curse thus?"

Thersites:"Do I curse thee?"

Patroclus: "Why, no, you ruinous butt; you whoreson

indistinguishable cur, no."

Thersites. "No! Why art thou, then, exasperate, thou idle

immaterial skein of slied silk, thou green sarcenet flap for

a sore eye, thou tassel of a prodigal's purse, thou? Ah,

how the poor world is pest'red with such water-flies

diminutives of nature."

Patroclus: "Out gall!

Thersites. "Finch egg!"

V.7 Thersites:"What art thou?"

Margarelon: "A bastard son of Priam's"

Thersites: "I am a bastard too; I love bastards. I am a bastard

begot, bastard instructed, bastard in mind, bastard in

valour, in everything illegitimate. One bear will not bite

another, and wherefore should one bastard? Take heed,

the quarrel's most ominous to us: if the son of a whore

fight for a whore, he tempts judgment. Farewell, bastard."