Troilus

Play

Troilus and Cressida

Summary

The youngest son of King Priam, a prince of Troy whose capacity for absolute, unwavering love becomes the source of his undoing. His idealism is inflated to an almost impossible pitch before Cressida's apparent infidelity shatters it, leaving him in a rage of grief and disillusionment. He fights on after Hector's death, but the play offers him no resolution — only the bleak continuation of war.

Notable Quotations

"I am giddy; expectation whirls me round. / Th'imaginary relish is so sweet / That it enchants my sense." *(III.ii)*

"This is the monstruosity in love, lady, that the will is infinite, and the execution confined." *(III.ii)*

"The bonds of heaven are slipped, dissolved, and loosed." *(V.ii)*

Cross-references

• Troilus and Cressida — the play
• Tragedies
• character_cressida — his beloved who appears to betray him
• character_pandarus — the uncle who arranges their union
• character_hector — his noble elder brother
• character_diomedes_tc — the Greek who takes Cressida from him