Original: And suddenly; where injury of chance
Modern: And all of a sudden, when bad luck strikes

Original: Puts back leave-taking, justles roughly by
Modern: It pushes aside our proper goodbyes, rudely shoving past

Original: All time of pause, rudely beguiles our lips
Modern: Any moment to stop and think, cruelly cheating our lips

Original: Of all rejoindure, forcibly prevents
Modern: Out of any chance to respond to each other, forcefully stopping

Original: Our lock’d embrasures, strangles our dear vows
Modern: Our tight embraces, choking off our precious promises

Original: Even in the birth of our own labouring breath:
Modern: Even as we struggle to speak them aloud:

Original: We two, that with so many thousand sighs
Modern: The two of us, who with so many thousands of sighs

Original: Did buy each other, must poorly sell ourselves
Modern: Earned each other’s love, must now cheaply give ourselves away

Original: With the rude brevity and discharge of one.
Modern: With the harsh quickness and release of a single moment.

Original: Injurious time now with a robber’s haste
Modern: Harmful time now, moving with a thief’s speed

Original: Crams his rich thievery up, he knows not how:
Modern: Stuffs his stolen treasure away carelessly, not knowing how:

Original: As many farewells as be stars in heaven,
Modern: As many goodbyes as there are stars in the sky,

Original: With distinct breath and consign’d kisses to them,
Modern: Each one spoken clearly with kisses sealed to them,

Original: He fumbles up into a lose adieu,
Modern: He clumsily bundles up into one loose goodbye,

Original: And scants us with a single famish’d kiss,
Modern: And gives us only one starving, inadequate kiss,

Original: Distasted with the salt of broken tears.
Modern: Made bitter by the saltiness of our heartbroken tears.

In Act IV, Scene 4 of “Troilus and Cressida,” the scene opens in Pandarus’s house where Troilus and Cressida are together following their night of consummated love. Paris and Aeneas arrive to inform Troilus that he must bring Cressida to her father, as the Greeks have agreed to exchange the Trojan prisoner Antenor for her. Troilus is devastated by this news but must comply with the exchange that has been arranged by Priam and the Trojan council. The lovers are given little time to process this sudden separation, and Troilus struggles to maintain composure while receiving these instructions.

Cressida is brought forth, and the lovers engage in an anguished farewell. They exchange vows of faithfulness, with Cressida protesting her constancy and Troilus expressing his undying devotion. Troilus gives Cressida a sleeve as a token of his love, while she gives him a glove. They promise to remain true to one another despite the separation, with Troilus particularly concerned about Cressida being surrounded by Greek warriors. Diomedes arrives to escort Cressida to the Greek camp, and Troilus, unable to prevent her departure, extracts a promise from Diomedes to treat her well. The scene concludes with the painful separation of the lovers and Troilus’s reluctant acceptance of circumstances beyond his control.

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.