Troilus and Cressida

One of the protagonists of the play, Troilus is the 23-year-old youngest son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. His brothers include Hector and Paris, while the prophetess Cassandra is one of Troilus’s sisters. Pandarus describes Troilus as so youthful that he barely has three or four hairs on his chin, yet he is as strong as his older brother Hector. It can be inferred that Troilus is handsome, with a rich complexion like his brother Paris. Like other characters in the play, Troilus is a composite of different types. For instance, when the play opens, he openly pines for Cressida, in vocabulary common to the Renaissance courtly suitor, such as Duke Orsino in Shakespeare’s As You Like It (1599). 

Troilus uses popular metaphors such as war for love, used often in love sonnets of the period. From courtly suitor, he progresses to idealistic, impassioned lover, defending the cause of love to Hector and trembling in anticipation at the prospect of beholding Cressida. However, he is also the suspicious patriarch, already sure Cressida will betray him by virtue of being a woman. By the end of the play, he is a vengeful warrior, bereft of the mercy that redeemed Hector.