How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #4
Call here my varlet; I'll unarm again: Why should I war without the walls of Troy, That find such cruel battle here within? Each Trojan that is master of his heart, Let him to field; Troilus, alas! hath none. (1.1.1-5)
Someone is always drawing our attention to the relationship between warfare and love in this play. Here, Troilus compares the "cruel battle" within his heart (a.k.a. his love for Cressida) to the "war" that's being fought outside the walls of Troy. Isn't that poetic?
Quote #5
Peace, you ungracious clamours! peace, rude sounds! Fools on both sides! Helen must needs be fair, When with your blood you daily paint her thus. I cannot fight upon this argument; It is too starved a subject for my sword. (1.1.88-93)
Troilus is pretty sarcastic when he says that Helen must be "fair" (a.k.a. hot) if so many guys are willing to spill their blood for her. Here, he insists that the Trojan War isn't being fought for a good enough reason—fighting over a woman is "too starved a subject for his sword." What's interesting is that, later in the play, Troilus argues that fighting for Helen is a matter of Trojan "honor." Plus, after Cressida betrays him, Troilus is more than willing to spill blood over a personal relationship. What's up with that?
Quote #6
'Deliver Helen, and all damage else— As honor, loss of time, travail, expense, Wounds, friends, and what else dear that is consumed In hot digestion of this cormorant war— Shall be struck off.' (2.2.3-7)
Nestor's message to the Trojans is a stark reminder of the consequences of the Trojan War—the loss of countless lives, honor, time, money, and so on. We're also interested in how Nestor describes war as a "cormorant" (a.k.a. a giant bird that goes around devouring everything in sight). Something tells us that we're not in Muppet territory.