Troilus and Cressida Act 5, Scene 3 Summary

Read the full text of Troilus and Cressida Act 5 Scene 3 with a side-by-side translation HERE.


  • The next morning, in Troy, Hector's wife Andromache begs her husband not to fight today.
  • Hector says something horrible like, "Woman, you're asking for it with all this nagging."
  • We find out that Andromache has been having some "ominous" dreams. (Uh-oh.)
  • Speaking of female premonitions, here's crazy Cassandra.
  • Hector's wife and sister beg him not to go because they've both had premonitions of "bloody turbulence" and "slaughter"—presumably, Hector's.
  • But Hector insists that his "honor" is way more important to him than his life.
  • Troilus shows up and Cassandra runs off to get Priam to talk Hector out of fighting.
  • Hector greets Troilus and is all "Listen, kid, I don't think it's a good idea for you to fight today. Why don't you stay home and let me kill some Greeks for you."
  • But Troilus is ready to get his battle on, finally.
  • Prima shows up with Cassandra and begs Hector not to go to battle since Hector's wife, sister, mom, and even Priam have all had visions of his death.
  • Hector goes to battle anyway.
  • Alone on stage, Troilus tells us that he's going to get his "sleeve" back from Diomedes on the battlefield.
  • In pops Pandarus with a letter from Cressida.
  • As Troilus reads it, Pandarus gives us way too much information about how he's been feeling sick lately. He's got a nasty cough, a mucous oozing from his eyes, and his bones ache (probably from syphilis, a.k.a. the "Neapolitan bone-ache" we told you about earlier).
  • Troilus announces the letter is full of "words, words, mere words" and tears it to shreds.
  • Okay, Troilus, but seriously: what else did you expect a letter to be full of?