Tag Archives: Paris

“I know what ’tis to love;

And would, as I shall pity, I could help.

Please you walk in, my lords.” (4.4.10-13)

There is a tragic absurdity that runs through Troilus and Cressida. Paris, in the lines above, expresses his regret to Troilus that he cannot interfere in Troilus’ separation from Cressida. This line does not seem to be mocking and yet, as an audience, we know that what he says is untrue. Paris has all the power to help Troilus. He simply needs to return Helen to her husband and end the war. Paris seems totally unaware of the absurdity of his attempt to comfort Troilus. He takes no blame for the widespread pain he inflicts. Like Shakespeare’s caricatures of Menelaus, Ulysses, and Agamemnon, the portrait of a blindly hypocritical Paris serves to undermine the blind reverence that follows those in power. This theme is carried further in the hectic short scenes of act 5. Amidst the bloody chaos, Agamemnon says “march patiently on” (5.9.6). Not only are the leaders in this play out of touch with the human consequences of their actions, they are disconnected from the reality of events as they unfold around them.