Pandarus: The Go-Between Who Named a Vice
First appears: Act 1, Scene 1
Pandarus gives his name to the English word 'pander': someone who facilitates illicit relationships for their own benefit (usually money or status). He arranges Troilus and Cressida's meeting, acts as their go-between, and takes considerable pleasure in having done so.
He is a comic figure for most of the play: fussy, cheerful, enjoying the drama. His observations on the Trojans returning from battle in Act 1 are brilliant specimens of infuriating commentary.
The epilogue Shakespeare gives him is strange and bitter. He addresses the audience directly and bequeaths them his diseases. The play ends with a pimp's closing speech.
Key Scenes
Pandarus's Key Quotes
“O world! world! world! thus is the poor agent despised!”
Pandarus, Act 5, Scene 10
“If ever you prove false one to another, since I have taken such pains to bring you together, let all pitiful goers-between be called to the world's end after my name; call them all Pandars.”
Pandarus, Act 3, Scene 2
Themes
Other Characters in Troilus and Cressida
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