Original: What glory our Achilles shares from Hector,
Modern: Whatever glory Achilles would gain from defeating Hector,

Original: Were he not proud, we all should share with him:
Modern: If he weren’t so arrogant, we’d all share in that glory with him.

Original: But he already is too insolent;
Modern: But he’s already way too full of himself,

Original: And we were better parch in Afric sun
Modern: And we’d be better off burning up in the African sun

Original: Than in the pride and salt scorn of his eyes,
Modern: Than suffering the bitter, stinging contempt in his eyes

Original: Should he ‘scape Hector fair: if he were foil’d,
Modern: If he manages to escape Hector unharmed. But if he were defeated,

Original: Why then, we did our main opinion crush
Modern: Well then, we would destroy our own reputation

Original: In taint of our best man. No, make a lottery;
Modern: By having our best warrior disgraced. No, let’s hold a lottery instead,

Original: And, by device, let blockish Ajax draw
Modern: And through this trick, let the stupid Ajax draw

Original: The sort to fight with Hector: among ourselves
Modern: The lot to fight with Hector. But privately among ourselves,

Original: Give him allowance for the better man;
Modern: Let’s admit that Achilles is the better warrior.

Original: For that will physic the great Myrmidon
Modern: Because this will be medicine for the great Achilles,

Original: Who broils in loud applause, and make him fall
Modern: Who’s burning up with all his loud praise, and make him lower

Original: His crest that prouder than blue Iris bends.
Modern: His proud head that arches higher than the rainbow itself.

Original: If the dull brainless Ajax come safe off,
Modern: If the dull, stupid Ajax survives the fight,

Original: We’ll dress him up in voices: if he fail,
Modern: We’ll praise him to the skies. If he fails,

Original: Yet go we under our opinion still
Modern: We’ll still maintain the reputation

Original: That we have better men. But, hit or miss,
Modern: That we have better men available. But whether he wins or loses,

Original: Our project’s life this shape of sense assumes:
Modern: The whole point of our plan comes down to this:

Original: Ajax employ’d plucks down Achilles’ plumes.
Modern: Using Ajax in this way will knock Achilles down a peg.

In Act I, Scene 3, line 376 and following of “Troilus and Cressida,” Aeneas arrives in the Greek camp as a Trojan herald bearing a challenge from Hector. After Agamemnon grants him permission to speak, Aeneas delivers Hector’s formal challenge: if any Greek believes his lady is fairer and more virtuous than Hector’s lady, and wishes to maintain this claim with his life and honor, Hector will meet him in single combat the next day. The challenge includes specific details about the combat arrangements—Hector will await his opponent midway between the camps, and if no one accepts, Hector will proclaim throughout Greece that Greek ladies lack beauty and their knights lack courage to defend them.

The Greek leaders respond to this challenge with interest. Agamemnon accepts the challenge on behalf of the Greeks and promises to deliver it to their worthiest knight. After Aeneas departs, Nestor immediately identifies the challenge as being directed at Achilles, since Hector knows Achilles’s reputation well. Ulysses concurs that the challenge seems designed specifically to draw out Achilles. The Greek commanders then discuss strategy, with Ulysses suggesting they manipulate the selection process by having Ajax chosen by lottery to fight Hector instead of Achilles, as a means of deflating Achilles’s dangerous pride and teaching him humility. The other leaders agree to this plan.

Troilus and Cressida is set during the Trojan War and follows two interconnected storylines. The first centers on the tragic love affair between Troilus, a young Trojan prince, and Cressida, daughter of the Trojan priest Calchas who has defected to the Greeks. With the help of Cressida’s uncle Pandarus, the lovers are brought together and consummate their relationship, pledging eternal fidelity to one another.

Meanwhile, the Greek camp is plagued by dissension and a breakdown in military hierarchy. The war has dragged on for seven years with little progress. Agamemnon and Nestor struggle to maintain order while Achilles sulks in his tent, refusing to fight. The Greeks attempt to provoke Achilles by having Ajax challenge the Trojan hero Hector to single combat, but this strategy fails to rouse Achilles to action.

The two plots converge when the Greeks and Trojans arrange a prisoner exchange: Cressida is to be traded to the Greek camp in return for the Trojan commander Antenor. Despite their vows of love, Cressida is forced to leave Troy. Once in the Greek camp, she quickly becomes involved with the Greek warrior Diomedes. Troilus witnesses her apparent betrayal during a nighttime encounter and is devastated by her inconstancy.

The play concludes with renewed fighting between the two armies. Hector, despite ominous warnings, enters battle and is treacherously killed by Achilles and his Myrmidons. Troilus, consumed with grief and rage over both Cressida’s betrayal and Hector’s death, vows revenge against the Greeks. The play ends without resolution, as the war continues with both sides having suffered significant losses.