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| Character | Thersites | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male | |
| Age Range(s) | Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Senior (>50) | |
| Type of monologue / Character is | Complaining, Mocking | |
| Type | Serio-comic | |
| Period | Renaissance | |
| Genre | Action, Romance, Historical, Tragedy, War | |
| Description | Thersites mocks Ajax and Achilles | |
| Location | ACT II, Scene 3 | |
Summary
The prologue introduces us to the story. The play is about the Trojan War, the mythological war between Troy and several Greek kings led by Menelaus of Sparta. The war starts when Paris of Troy steals the beautiful Helen from Menelaus. In response, the Spartan king gathers 69 princes from several cities in Greece and attacks Troy in order to rescue Helen. The play starts in the middle of the war, that is 7 years after the war started.
In the first ACT we are introduced to the main characters in the Trojan side and Troilus' love for Cressida. The Greek army, led by Agamemnon, is going through a crisis and various commanders, such as Nestor and Ulysses, and Greek kings meet to discuss a plan of action to conquer Troy. Aeneas, a Trojan commander, brings a challenge from Hector, the greatest Trojan warrior. Hector has decided to challenge any Greek soldier in a fight and in case he is defeated, he will give up his wife to whoever he will fight. The Greek commanders choose to send Ajax instead of Achilles (who is considered the greatest Greek warrior), in order to provoke him since he is being lazy and has been avoiding fighting with the Greek army.
Ajax asks his slave Thersites to find out what news Aeneas brought but he refuses. Ajax beats him and later finds out about the challenge from Achilles who tells him the fighter who will fight Hector will be decided by a lottery.
In the third scene of ACT II we find Thersites, who is a ruffian and is always cursing at everybody, mock Ajax and Achilles for their pretensions and their disruptive attitudes towards the war with the Trojans.
In the first ACT we are introduced to the main characters in the Trojan side and Troilus' love for Cressida. The Greek army, led by Agamemnon, is going through a crisis and various commanders, such as Nestor and Ulysses, and Greek kings meet to discuss a plan of action to conquer Troy. Aeneas, a Trojan commander, brings a challenge from Hector, the greatest Trojan warrior. Hector has decided to challenge any Greek soldier in a fight and in case he is defeated, he will give up his wife to whoever he will fight. The Greek commanders choose to send Ajax instead of Achilles (who is considered the greatest Greek warrior), in order to provoke him since he is being lazy and has been avoiding fighting with the Greek army.
Ajax asks his slave Thersites to find out what news Aeneas brought but he refuses. Ajax beats him and later finds out about the challenge from Achilles who tells him the fighter who will fight Hector will be decided by a lottery.
In the third scene of ACT II we find Thersites, who is a ruffian and is always cursing at everybody, mock Ajax and Achilles for their pretensions and their disruptive attitudes towards the war with the Trojans.
Written by Administrator
| Excerpt |
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| THERSITES How now, Thersites! what lost in the labyrinth of thy fury! Shall the elephant Ajax carry it thus? He beats me, and I rail at him: O, worthy satisfaction! would it were otherwise; that I could beat him, whilst he railed at me. 'Sfoot, I'll learn to conjure and raise devils, but I'll see some issue of my spiteful execrations. Then there's Achilles, a rare enginer! If Troy be not taken till these two undermine it, the walls will stand till they fall of themselves. O thou great thunder-darter of Olympus, forget that thou art Jove, the king of gods and, Mercury, lose all the serpentine craft of thy caduceus, if ye take not that little, little less than little wit from them that they have! which short-armed ignorance itself knows is so abundant scarce, it will not in circumvention deliver a fly from a spider, without drawing their massy irons and cutting the web. After this, the vengeance on the whole camp! or rather, the bone-ache! for that, methinks, is the curse dependent on those that war for a placket. I have said my prayers and devil Envy say Amen. What ho! my Lord Achilles! |
