Troilus and Cressida Act 5, Scene 5 Summary

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


  • Diomedes sends his servant with a message to Cressida about how he just beat down her ex-boyfriend. He also sends along Troilus's horse as proof that he's now Cressida's "knight" in shining armor.
  • Agamemnon appears and lists all the Greeks who have been killed, including Achilles' lover, Patroclus.
  • He and Diomedes run off to get reinforcements while Nestor shows up to deliver the bad news about Patroclus.
  • Then he tells us that Hector is running around the battlefield mowing down Greek warriors like a one-man army.
  • Ulysses runs up and says that Achilles is "weeping, cursing" and "vowing vengeance" for Patroclus' death.
  • We find out that Achilles and his gang of hooligan "Myrmidons" are out for Hector's blood. Ajax runs in looking to kill Troilus.