Troilus and Cressida: Act 5, Scene 4 Translation

A side-by-side translation of Act 5, Scene 4 of Troilus and Cressida from the original Shakespeare into modern English.

Original Text	Translated Text
Source: Folger Shakespeare Library
Alarum. Excursions. Enter Thersites. THERSITES Now they are clapper-clawing one another. I’ll go look on. That dissembling abominable varlet, 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 5 Trojan ass that loves the whore there might send that Greekish whoremasterly villain with the sleeve back to the dissembling luxurious drab, of a sleeveless errand. O’ th’ t’other side, the policy of those crafty swearing rascals—that stale old mouse-eaten 10 dry cheese, Nestor, and that same dog-fox, Ulysses—is proved not worth 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 15 not arm today, whereupon the Grecians begin to proclaim barbarism, and policy grows into an ill opinion. Enter Diomedes, and Troilus pursuing him. Soft! Here comes sleeve and t’ other. Thersites moves aside. TROILUS, to Diomedes Fly not, for shouldst thou take the river Styx 20 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! They fight. 25 THERSITES Hold thy whore, Grecian! Now for thy whore, Trojan! Now the sleeve, now the sleeve! Diomedes and Troilus exit fighting. Enter Hector. HECTOR What art thou, Greek? Art thou for Hector’s match? Art thou of blood and honor? THERSITES No, no, I am a rascal, a scurvy railing 30 knave, a very filthy rogue. HECTOR I do believe thee. Live. He exits. THERSITES God-a-mercy, that thou wilt believe me! But a plague break thy neck for frighting me! What’s become of the wenching rogues? I think 35 they have swallowed one another. I would laugh at that miracle—yet, in a sort, lechery eats itself. I’ll seek them. He exits.	Cut to the battlefield, where Thersites watches everything go down while offering his nasty commentary on the action. Thersites tells us that Diomedes (the "whoremasterly villain") is running around the battlefield with Troilus's "sleeve" on his helmet. While he's at it, he rags on Nestor, Ulysses, Ajax, and Achilles. Troilus and Hector run across the stage in mid-battle. Then Hector runs on stage and apparently takes a break from fighting Troilus to challenge Thersites to man-to-man combat....if Thersites thinks he's got the stones for it. But, uh, nope. He doesn't, so Hector lets him live and moves on. Thersites runs off to watch Troilus throw down with Diomedes.

Original Text

Translated Text

Alarum. Excursions. Enter Thersites.

THERSITES Now they are clapper-clawing one another.
I’ll go look on. That dissembling abominable varlet,
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 5
Trojan ass that loves the whore there might send
that Greekish whoremasterly villain with the sleeve
back to the dissembling luxurious drab, of a sleeveless
errand. O’ th’ t’other side, the policy of those
crafty swearing rascals—that stale old mouse-eaten 10
dry cheese, Nestor, and that same dog-fox,
Ulysses—is proved not worth 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 15
not arm today, whereupon the Grecians begin to
proclaim barbarism, and policy grows into an ill
opinion.

Enter Diomedes, and Troilus pursuing him.

Soft! Here comes sleeve and t’ other.

Thersites moves aside.

TROILUS, to Diomedes
Fly not, for shouldst thou take the river Styx 20
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! They fight. 25

THERSITES
Hold thy whore, Grecian! Now for thy
whore, Trojan! Now the sleeve, now the sleeve!

Diomedes and Troilus exit fighting.

Enter Hector.

HECTOR
What art thou, Greek? Art thou for Hector’s match?
Art thou of blood and honor?

THERSITES
No, no, I am a rascal, a scurvy railing 30
knave, a very filthy rogue.

HECTOR I do believe thee. Live.

He exits.

THERSITES
God-a-mercy, that thou wilt believe me!
But a plague break thy neck for frighting me!
What’s become of the wenching rogues? I think 35
they have swallowed one another. I would laugh at
that miracle—yet, in a sort, lechery eats itself. I’ll
seek them.

He exits.

Cut to the battlefield, where Thersites watches everything go down while offering his nasty commentary on the action.

Thersites tells us that Diomedes (the "whoremasterly villain") is running around the battlefield with Troilus's "sleeve" on his helmet.

While he's at it, he rags on Nestor, Ulysses, Ajax, and Achilles.

Troilus and Hector run across the stage in mid-battle.

Then Hector runs on stage and apparently takes a break from fighting Troilus to challenge Thersites to man-to-man combat....if Thersites thinks he's got the stones for it.

But, uh, nope. He doesn't, so Hector lets him live and moves on.

Thersites runs off to watch Troilus throw down with Diomedes.

Troilus and Cressida: Act 5, Scene 4 Translation

A side-by-side translation of Act 5, Scene 4 of Troilus and Cressida from the original Shakespeare into modern English.

Original Text

Translated Text

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