Troilus: Love as a Losing Bet
First appears: Act 1, Scene 1
Troilus is a man who believes in things completely. He believes in love, in honour, in the absolute worth of Helen as a cause. His idealism is his defining quality and his fatal weakness.
His courtship of Cressida, managed through her uncle Pandarus, is conducted at a pitch of emotional intensity she cannot match. He describes the anticipation of their first meeting as making expectation whirl him around. Everything is maximised.
In Act 5 he watches Cressida with Diomedes from a distance and has to hold two incompatible things in his mind: what he saw, and his belief in Cressida. His attempt to resolve this is the play's most psychologically acute moment.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“I am giddy; expectation whirls me round. The imaginary relish is so sweet That it enchants my sense:”
Troilus — Act 3, Scene 2
“Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart:”
Troilus — Act 5, Scene 3
Themes
Other Characters in Troilus and Cressida
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