Troilus and Cressida, Act 5 Scene 4 runs 37 lines of dialogue, spoken by 4 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 144 lines. This scene is part of Act 5 of Troilus and Cressida.
Full Dialogue
Thersites ♂
Now they are clapper-clawing one another; I'll go
look on. That dissembling abominable varlets Diomed,
has got that same scurvy doting foolish young knave's
sleeve of Troy there in his helm: I would fain see
them meet; that that same young Trojan ass, that
loves the whore there, might send that Greekish
whore-masterly villain, with the sleeve, back to the
dissembling luxurious drab, of a sleeveless errand.
O' the t'other side, the policy of those crafty
swearing rascals, that stale old mouse-eaten dry
cheese, Nestor, and that same dog-fox, Ulysses, is
not proved worthy a blackberry: they set me up, in
policy, that mongrel cur, Ajax, against that dog of
as bad a kind, Achilles: and now is the cur Ajax
prouder than the cur Achilles, and will not arm
to-day; whereupon the Grecians begin to proclaim
barbarism, and policy grows into an ill opinion.
Soft! here comes sleeve, and t'other.
look on. That dissembling abominable varlets Diomed,
has got that same scurvy doting foolish young knave's
sleeve of Troy there in his helm: I would fain see
them meet; that that same young Trojan ass, that
loves the whore there, might send that Greekish
whore-masterly villain, with the sleeve, back to the
dissembling luxurious drab, of a sleeveless errand.
O' the t'other side, the policy of those crafty
swearing rascals, that stale old mouse-eaten dry
cheese, Nestor, and that same dog-fox, Ulysses, is
not proved worthy a blackberry: they set me up, in
policy, that mongrel cur, Ajax, against that dog of
as bad a kind, Achilles: and now is the cur Ajax
prouder than the cur Achilles, and will not arm
to-day; whereupon the Grecians begin to proclaim
barbarism, and policy grows into an ill opinion.
Soft! here comes sleeve, and t'other.
Troilus ♂
Fly not; for shouldst thou take the river Styx,
I would swim after.
I would swim after.
Diomedes ♂
Thou dost miscall retire:
I do not fly, but advantageous care
Withdrew me from the odds of multitude:
Have at thee!
I do not fly, but advantageous care
Withdrew me from the odds of multitude:
Have at thee!
Thersites ♂
Hold thy whore, Grecian!–now for thy whore,
Trojan!–now the sleeve, now the sleeve!
Trojan!–now the sleeve, now the sleeve!
Hector ♂
What art thou, Greek? art thou for Hector's match?
Art thou of blood and honour?
Art thou of blood and honour?
Thersites ♂
No, no, I am a rascal; a scurvy railing knave:
a very filthy rogue.
a very filthy rogue.
Hector ♂
I do believe thee: live.
Thersites ♂
God-a-mercy, that thou wilt believe me; but a
plague break thy neck for frightening me! What's
become of the wenching rogues? I think they have
swallowed one another: I would laugh at that
miracle: yet, in a sort, lechery eats itself.
I'll seek them.
plague break thy neck for frightening me! What's
become of the wenching rogues? I think they have
swallowed one another: I would laugh at that
miracle: yet, in a sort, lechery eats itself.
I'll seek them.
37 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Thersites | 28 | 75.7% |
| Diomedes | 4 | 10.8% |
| Hector | 3 | 8.1% |
| Troilus | 2 | 5.4% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 28 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 9 lines.
Total speakers on stage
4 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 5
This is Scene 4 of 10 in Act 5 of Troilus and Cressida.
Scene length vs. play average
At 37 lines, this scene is shorter than the Troilus and Cressida average scene in Troilus and Cressida (~144 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 5 Scene 3 · Next: Act 5 Scene 5