Tag Archives: Achilles

Ulysses and Manipulation

Posted on November 2, 2011 by asmit

Ulysses is brilliant in manipulating Achilles in Act 3 Scene 3. Because of the way he treats Achilles, as well as other characters, we can see that he knows what he needs to say in order to get someone to go in the direction that he wants – whether it’s by fluffing up their ego, capitalizing on their worries, or bringing them down to shame.

If you’re a hero like Achilles, you want yourself to be remembered – you want your name to go down in history. What good is it, then, if no one remembers your deeds and your name is lost in the sands of time? Ulysses knows this, and takes advantage of this fact in order to manipulate Achilles. He tells Achilles, “Perseverance, dear my lord, / Keeps honor bright. To have done, is to hang / Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail / In monumental mock’ry” (lines 150-153). In other words, Achilles must keep fighting in order to preserve his image as a hero and great warrior, but since he isn’t fighting, we will be useless – a remnant of the past, once great, but now rusty, like old armor. Ulysses’ speech is full of military metaphors – something he probably did on purpose since he knows Achilles would relate to them the most.

But Ulysses doesn’t stop at the metaphors: he knows Achilles is in love with a Trojan princess (one of Priam’s daughters), and uses that fact as blackmail against Achilles.

The final tactic that Ulysses uses to manipulate Achilles is telling him that “all the Greeks begin to worship Ajax” (3.3.181). This would clearly manipulate Achilles by making him jealous of Ajax. “Why is everyone worshipping this stupid oaf when I’m the real hero,” is something that comes to mind as what Achilles would think.

In this scene, Ulysses proves his reputation as a masterful tactician and manipulator by using the aforementioned methods to persuade Achilles to fight again.

Posted in Troilus and Cressida | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Helen vs. Cressida

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Mary Iannone

While you know from the beginning of Troilus & Cressida that the main love story is going to be, of course, between Troilus & Cressida, I couldn’t help but realize while reading Act III of the play that this is the first time we meet Helen.  After all, this war was instigated by her, and she is known as the most beautiful woman in the area – it seems natural that Shakespeare would write about the most beautiful woman, not a lesser beauty like Cressida. 

But when you compare Helen’s remarks in Act III, Scene I, to Cressida’s in Act I, Scene II, something about Helen falls flat in comparison to Cressida.  Whereas Cressida is constantly on her toes ready to go head to head with whomever she is speaking to, Helen resorts to bawdy jokes.

It’s also interesting to note that while Helen is the main reason this war is taking place, it is Cressida’s name in the title of the play.  However, throughout much of the play thus far, it has been Helen, and not Cressida, that has been driving much of the plot.  That is because the majority of the plot has been the talk of war, and the rivalry between Ulysses & Achilles.  This may be a weakness on Shakespeare’s part, but the romance that the title alludes to is not really picked up until Act III.  There are other pairings – Ulysses & Achilles, Pandarus & Troilus, Achilles & Patroclus – that are explored more deeply before we ever see Troilus & Cressida in love.

Posted in Troilus and Cressida | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment