Troilus and Cressida · Chapter
Scene III explained
Paris reminds Troilus that the hour for delivering Cressida to the Greek Diomedes is near.
What happens
Paris reminds Troilus that the hour for delivering Cressida to the Greek Diomedes is near. Troilus agrees to fetch her, vowing that delivering her is like a priest offering his own heart on an altar. Paris expresses sympathy, and the lords enter Pandarus' house.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This scene is the dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak of Troilus’s rage and…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Love and Betrayal
Troilus' painful duty to deliver Cressida to the Greeks underscores the tension between personal love and political betrayal.
Characters to notice
- Troilus
Agrees to bring Cressida to Diomedes, likening the act to a sacrificial offering of his own heart.
- Paris
Urges Troilus to hasten Cressida's delivery and expresses sympathy for his brother's love.
- Aeneas
Present among the lords entering Pandarus' house.
- Diomedes
The Greek to whom Cressida is to be delivered; present as the exchange approaches.
Key passages
“And to his hand when I deliver her, Think it an altar, and thy brother Troilus A priest there offering to it his own heart.”
When I hand her over to Diomedes, imagine it as a sacred altar where I, like a priest, sacrifice my own heart.
Troilus uses religious imagery to express the profound personal cost of surrendering Cressida.
