Troilus and Cressida

In Troilus and Cressida, events rob the youthful and the idealistic of their noble notions about romance and heroism. In both its love plot and war plot, the play steadily interrogates and undermines both conventions of courtly love and the warrior ethos, reflecting a disillusionment with romantic and heroic ideals. 

Troilus’s example illustrates the process of disenchantment. At the beginning of the play, Troilus is filled with the ardor of love. His first line in the play is his wish to “unarm again” (1.1.1). So busy is his heart fighting for Cressida’s favor that he has no desire for the external fight. By the last act, the ardor of love in Troilus has been replaced by a new passion: the annihilatory passion for war. Completely reversing his previous lack of interest in battle, Troilus berates Hector for asking him not to fight. He tells his older brother that nothing can stop him from war, “not fate, not obedience, nor the hand of Mars […] Not Priam and Hecuba on knees” (5.3.52-54). Thus, in a series of images, Troilus demolishes the idea of obedience to brother, god, and parents. Discarding all ideals of family, order, and love, Troilus opts for revenge and nihilism. Thus, the play presents the reality that tests idealistic expectations.

One of the ways in which the play subverts romantic expectations is through examining the pairings of Troilus-Cressida and Paris-Helen. Unlike in a tragic romance like Romeo and Juliet (1597), the pairs in Troilus and Cressida are associated more with lust, infidelity, and a lack of faith. In Romeo and Juliet, the lead pair make love only after they are married; the go-between in their love is Friar Laurence, a serious and wise character. However, in Troilus and Cressida the couple makes love outside of marriage, aided by the ignoble character Pandarus. 

Pandarus never lets the couple—and the audience—forget that Troilus and Cressida’s lovemaking is about lechery, possession, and a deal. His vocabulary is definitely anti-romantic, with him comparing Cressida to a freshly-caught bird, and telling Cressida she would be more open (sexually available) if it were dark. In the case of Paris and Helen, characters often stress the fact that Helen is a wanton woman, for whom a war is being needlessly fought. Paris’s love for her is portrayed as unlawful, since she is the wife—and therefore the property—of Menelaus. Thus, the play undermines the ideal of the romantic muse, the woman who inspires a man to spiritual and creative heights, while suggesting that the love characters believe they feel is ultimately shallow.

Heroic ideals are undone through the trajectories of both Achilles and Hector. Although Achilles is often praised in the play as a great hero—which is in line with his depiction in Greek mythology—his actions negate his reputation in the play. The most striking of Achilles’s unheroic actions is his ambush of Hector. Shakespeare uses a series of contrasts to build up the pathetic imagery of this scene, and to enhance the anti-heroism of Achilles’s actions. Hector has just spared Achilles despite defeating him, yet Achilles ambushes him. The hour is late and battle-time has ended, yet Achilles is ready to shed blood. Hector is alone and in the process of removing his armor. In contrast, Achilles is fully armed and accompanied by his followers. The contrasts between Hector’s vulnerable state and Achilles’s position of power show that victory in war is more about opportunity than skill. 

Achilles’s directive to the Myrmidons to claim Hector’s death in his name shows that history is written by the victors, with Achilles claiming a glorious deed for himself that he did not perform and that was not honorable at all. Thus, Shakespeare exposes the true face behind many heroic victories, suggesting that war’s heroism and glory—like that of courtly love—is often an illusion.