Troilus and Cressida

Troilus and Cressida (1602) by William Shakespeare is one of his lesser-known works, often categorized as a “problem play” due to its ambiguous tone that blends elements of tragedy, comedy, and history. Set against the backdrop of the Trojan War, the play traces the doomed love story of Troilus, a Trojan prince, and Cressida, whose loyalty is tested when she is traded to the Greeks. Through its themes of infidelity, romantic disenchantment, and the futility of war, the play explores how times of duress can corrupt the noblest of principles. Although the play was not popular during Shakespeare’s time, it has seen a resurgence since the late 19th century and is now recognized as among Shakespeare’s most modern plays.

Written in blank verse, the five-act play is based on Homer’s ancient Greek epic Iliad and the medieval poem Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer. Shakespeare subverts many of the themes and characters of these classical sources to show the reality behind heroic narratives.

This guide uses the Penguin Classics UK 2015 Paperback edition. Lines are quoted by the convention of act number, scene number, and line number, such as 1.1.1 for Act I, Scene 1, Line 1.

Content Warning: This play reflects offensive attitudes and beliefs that were prevalent in early-17th-century England. The text also contains sexist, racist, anti-gay, and ableist language.

Plot Summary

The play is set during the fabled siege of Troy by the Greeks. When the Trojan prince Paris abducted Helen, the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, the action unleashed a mighty war. Powerful kings and warriors from across Greece gathered under Agamemnon’s command to sail to Troy. As the play’s action begins, the siege has stretched for seven years, with hundreds of soldiers dead on both sides.

The heroes of the war are Hector, the noble and brave eldest son of King Priam of Troy, and among the Greeks, Achilles, the half-mortal warrior destined for glory. In the first act, Prince Troilus, the youngest son of Priam, declares that he does not wish to go to the battlefield. Troilus is too troubled by his unrequited love for Cressida to do much else. Cressida is Trojan, but her father, the priest Calchas, has defected to the Greek camp. Troilus requests Pandarus, Cressida’s uncle, to intercede with her on his behalf.

Pandarus meets the witty and beautiful Cressida to press Troilus’s suit. He claims Troilus is a better warrior even than Hector, and so good-looking Paris fades in comparison. In fact, Helen thinks more highly of Troilus than her paramour Paris. Cressida dismisses Pandarus’s hyperbolic praise. However, after Pandarus leaves her, she admits that she does have feelings for Troilus. Worried that admitting her love will make Troilus lose interest in her, Cressida plans never to reveal her true feelings to him. 

In the Greek camp, Agamemnon, Nestor, and Ulysses of Ithaca discuss the reasons behind their inability to win the war. Troy seems strong, while the Greek side is dispirited. Ulysses traces the lack of morale in the Greek camp to a single source: Achilles. Achilles is not interested in the war and languishes in his tent with his cousin Patroclus. His insubordinate behavior has affected the soldiers, who have started breaking the chain of command. To turn the tide of the war, the Greek commanders must somehow rouse Achilles into action.

The opportunity to bring Achilles into the battlefield arrives in the form of a challenge thrown by Hector. Hector sends a message that he will meet a champion appointed by the Greeks in single combat the next day. The outcome of the combat can change the course of the war. Ulysses suggests that Ajax—a fine warrior, but inferior to Achilles in skill—be appointed the Greek champion. This will make Achilles feel slighted and induce him to fight to prove his glory. Furthermore, the Greek commanders should ignore Achilles from now on to deflate his ego. Despite these tactics, Achilles refuses to join the battle, as Polyxena, the Trojan princess he loves, has asked him to refrain from the fight.

In Troy, Pandarus engineers a meeting in an orchard between Troilus and Cressida. Troilus woos Cressida, and she finally confesses that she has loved him for a while. Cressida reveals her fear that Troilus will abandon her after they have made love. Troilus reassures her that he will always be loving and faithful. They exchange vows and kiss. Pandarus leads them to Cressida’s house for privacy. 

Around the same time in the Greek camp, Calchas requests Agamemnon to exchange Antenor, an important Trojan soldier they have taken prisoner, for Cressida. Agamemnon agrees and assigns the task of the exchange to Diomedes, a Greek commander. Diomedes arrives in Troy with Antenor. Paris accepts the exchange, though he knows sending Cressida away will hurt Troilus immensely. When the young couple receives the terrible news, Cressida vows to stay in Troy. Despite the best efforts of the couple, it is decreed that Cressida must go to Calchas. Troilus and Cressida vow fidelity to each other as they part. Troilus warns Diomedes that if he hurts Cressida, no one will be able to save him from Troilus’s wrath. 

The day of Hector’s challenge arrives. Hector meets Ajax in battle, but the combat proves inconclusive. Hector and Ajax part on a friendly note, with Agamemnon throwing a feast in Hector’s honor. The night of the feast, Troilus approaches Ulysses to take him to Calchas’s tent so he can meet Cressida. Troilus is shocked to see Cressida meet Diomedes outside the tent. Diomedes woos Cressida. Though she resists him at first, she gives in to his advances. When Diomedes asks Cressida for a token of her love, she gives him a sleeve that Troilus had given her. Cressida says her heart partly still belongs to Troilus, but the rest of it is uncertain. Declaring that Cressida has forsaken him, a heartbroken Troilus walks away.

Troilus grows bitter and enters the battle the next day, vowing to kill Diomedes. He chides his older brother Hector for being too merciful in war; Troilus will show no such mercy to his foes. Meanwhile, Hector’s wife, Andromache, and his sister Cassandra ask him not to go to battle, as they have had ominous nightmares about his death. Hector dismisses the women’s concerns. 

The fiercest battle yet rages on the field, with Troilus and Hector killing many Greek soldiers. Troilus is in pursuit of Diomedes, who wears Cressida’s sleeve on his helmet. When Achilles receives the news that Patroclus, his beloved cousin, has been killed in battle, he decides to enter the fray. Achilles confronts Hector but loses the bout. Hector spares Achilles. Achilles returns at the end of the day with his battalion, the Myrmidons. Finding Hector alone and in the process of disarming, the Myrmidons surround him on Achilles’s command and kill him. Achilles asks his soldiers to spread the news that it was he who slayed Hector. He then drags Hector’s corpse around the battlefield.

As the play ends, Troilus tells the armies that Hector’s death spells Troy’s doom. Despite this grim fact, Troilus plans to keep fighting till the end. Troilus runs into Pandarus on his way out of the field. Pandarus wants a word, but Troilus shuns him, calling him a low hustler. Pandarus turns to the audience, bemoaning his fate. Once sought after as a matchmaker, he is now reviled. Worse, he has been struck with venereal disease. The audience should take warning from his fate.