Monologue

Troilus Monologue from Troilus and Cressida

From Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare

male · anguished · 1:09 min

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O Pandarus! I tell thee, Pandarus, When I do tell thee there my hopes lie drown’d, Reply not in how many fathoms deep They lie indrench’d. I tell thee I am mad In Cressid’s love. Thou answer’st ‘She is fair’; Pour’st in the open ulcer of my heart Her eyes, her hair, her cheek, her gait, her voice, Handlest in thy discourse. O! that her hand, In whose comparison all whites are ink Writing their own reproach; to whose soft seizure The cygnet’s down is harsh, and spirit of sense Hard as the palm of ploughman! This thou tell’st me, As true thou tell’st me, when I say I love her; But, saying thus, instead of oil and balm, Thou lay’st in every gash that love hath given me The knife that made it.

About this piece

Troilus expresses his deep emotional turmoil and despair over his unrequited love for Cressida, feeling both overwhelmed by his feelings and tormented by the pain they bring.

20s · despair · love · madness · betrayal · longing

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