Monologue

Calchas Monologue from Troilus and Cressida

From Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare

male · anguished · 50 sec

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You have a Trojan prisoner call’d Antenor, Yesterday took; Troy holds him very dear. Oft have you—often have you thanks therefore— Desir’d my Cressid in right great exchange, Whom Troy hath still denied; but this Antenor, I know, is such a wrest in their affairs That their negotiations all must slack Wanting his manage; and they will almost Give us a prince of blood, a son of Priam, In change of him. Let him be sent, great Princes, And he shall buy my daughter; and her presence Shall quite strike off all service I have done In most accepted pain.

About this piece

Calchas, a Trojan priest, is negotiating the release of his daughter Cressid in exchange for the Trojan prisoner Antenor, revealing his desperation and the high stakes of familial bonds amidst the backdrop of war.

40s · longing · love · betrayal · power · family

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