Chapter: ACT III. SCENE 1.
Troy. PRIAM'S palace

Music sounds within. Enter PANDARUS and a SERVANT

  PANDARUS. Friend, you-pray you, a word. Do you not follow the young
    Lord Paris?
  SERVANT. Ay, sir, when he goes before me.
  PANDARUS. You depend upon him, I mean?
  SERVANT. Sir, I do depend upon the lord.
  PANDARUS. You depend upon a notable gentleman; I must needs praise
    him.
  SERVANT. The lord be praised!
  PANDARUS. You know me, do you not?
  SERVANT. Faith, sir, superficially.
  PANDARUS. Friend, know me better: I am the Lord Pandarus.
  SERVANT. I hope I shall know your honour better.
  PANDARUS. I do desire it.
  SERVANT. You are in the state of grace.
  PANDARUS. Grace! Not so, friend; honour and lordship are my titles.
    What music is this?
  SERVANT. I do but partly know, sir; it is music in parts.
  PANDARUS. Know you the musicians?
  SERVANT. Wholly, sir.
  PANDARUS. Who play they to?
  SERVANT. To the hearers, sir.
  PANDARUS. At whose pleasure, friend?
  SERVANT. At mine, sir, and theirs that love music.
  PANDARUS. Command, I mean, friend.
  SERVANT. Who shall I command, sir?
  PANDARUS. Friend, we understand not one another: I am too courtly,
    and thou art too cunning. At whose request do these men play?
  SERVANT. That's to't, indeed, sir. Marry, sir, at the request of
    Paris my lord, who is there in person; with him the mortal Venus,
    the heart-blood of beauty, love's invisible soul-
  PANDARUS. Who, my cousin, Cressida?
  SERVANT. No, sir, Helen. Could not you find out that by her
    attributes?
  PANDARUS. It should seem, fellow, that thou hast not seen the Lady
    Cressida. I come to speak with Paris from the Prince Troilus; I
    will make a complimental assault upon him, for my business
    seethes.
  SERVANT. Sodden business! There's a stew'd phrase indeed!

              Enter PARIS and HELEN, attended

  PANDARUS. Fair be to you, my lord, and to all this fair company!
    Fair desires, in all fair measure, fairly guide them-especially
    to you, fair queen! Fair thoughts be your fair pillow.
  HELEN. Dear lord, you are full of fair words.
  PANDARUS. You speak your fair pleasure, sweet queen. Fair prince,
    here is good broken music.
  PARIS. You have broke it, cousin; and by my life, you shall make it
    whole again; you shall piece it out with a piece of your
    performance.
  HELEN. He is full of harmony.
  PANDARUS. Truly, lady, no.
  HELEN. O, sir-
  PANDARUS. Rude, in sooth; in good sooth, very rude.
  PARIS. Well said, my lord. Well, you say so in fits.
  PANDARUS. I have business to my lord, dear queen. My lord, will you
    vouchsafe me a word?
  HELEN. Nay, this shall not hedge us out. We'll hear you sing,
    certainly-
  PANDARUS. Well sweet queen, you are pleasant with me. But, marry,
    thus, my lord: my dear lord and most esteemed friend, your
    brother Troilus-
  HELEN. My Lord Pandarus, honey-sweet lord-
  PANDARUS. Go to, sweet queen, go to-commends himself most
    affectionately to you-
  HELEN. You shall not bob us out of our melody. If you do, our
    melancholy upon your head!
  PANDARUS. Sweet queen, sweet queen; that's a sweet queen, i' faith.
  HELEN. And to make a sweet lady sad is a sour offence.
  PANDARUS. Nay, that shall not serve your turn; that shall it not,
    in truth, la. Nay, I care not for such words; no, no. -And, my
    lord, he desires you that, if the King call for him at supper,
    you will make his excuse.
  HELEN. My Lord Pandarus!
  PANDARUS. What says my sweet queen, my very very sweet queen?
  PARIS. What exploit's in hand? Where sups he to-night?
  HELEN. Nay, but, my lord-
  PANDARUS. What says my sweet queen?-My cousin will fall out with
    you.
  HELEN. You must not know where he sups.
  PARIS. I'll lay my life, with my disposer Cressida.
  PANDARUS. No, no, no such matter; you are wide. Come, your disposer
    is sick.
  PARIS. Well, I'll make's excuse.
  PANDARUS. Ay, good my lord. Why should you say Cressida?
    No, your poor disposer's sick.
  PARIS. I spy.
  PANDARUS. You spy! What do you spy?-Come, give me an instrument.
    Now, sweet queen.
  HELEN. Why, this is kindly done.
  PANDARUS. My niece is horribly in love with a thing you have, sweet
    queen.
  HELEN. She shall have it, my lord, if it be not my Lord Paris.
  PANDARUS. He! No, she'll none of him; they two are twain.
  HELEN. Falling in, after falling out, may make them three.
  PANDARUS. Come, come. I'll hear no more of this; I'll sing you a
    song now.
  HELEN. Ay, ay, prithee now. By my troth, sweet lord, thou hast a
    fine forehead.
  PANDARUS. Ay, you may, you may.
  HELEN. Let thy song be love. This love will undo us all. O Cupid,
    Cupid, Cupid!
  PANDARUS. Love! Ay, that it shall, i' faith.
  PARIS. Ay, good now, love, love, nothing but love.
  PANDARUS. In good troth, it begins so.
[Sings]

    Love, love, nothing but love, still love, still more!
           For, oh, love's bow
           Shoots buck and doe;
           The shaft confounds
           Not that it wounds,
    But tickles still the sore.
    These lovers cry, O ho, they die!
       Yet that which seems the wound to kill
    Doth turn O ho! to ha! ha! he!
       So dying love lives still.
    O ho! a while, but ha! ha! ha!
    O ho! groans out for ha! ha! ha!-hey ho!

  HELEN. In love, i' faith, to the very tip of the nose.
  PARIS. He eats nothing but doves, love; and that breeds hot blood,
    and hot blood begets hot thoughts, and hot thoughts beget hot
    deeds, and hot deeds is love.
  PANDARUS. Is this the generation of love: hot blood, hot thoughts,
    and hot deeds? Why, they are vipers. Is love a generation of
    vipers? Sweet lord, who's a-field today?
  PARIS. Hector, Deiphobus, Helenus, Antenor, and all the gallantry
    of Troy. I would fain have arm'd to-day, but my Nell would not
    have it so. How chance my brother Troilus went not?
  HELEN. He hangs the lip at something. You know all, Lord Pandarus.
  PANDARUS. Not I, honey-sweet queen. I long to hear how they spend
    to-day. You'll remember your brother's excuse?
  PARIS. To a hair.
  PANDARUS. Farewell, sweet queen.
  HELEN. Commend me to your niece.
  PANDARUS. I will, sweet queen.       Exit. Sound a retreat
  PARIS. They're come from the field. Let us to Priam's hall
    To greet the warriors. Sweet Helen, I must woo you
    To help unarm our Hector. His stubborn buckles,
    With these your white enchanting fingers touch'd,
    Shall more obey than to the edge of steel
    Or force of Greekish sinews; you shall do more
    Than all the island kings-disarm great Hector.
  HELEN. 'Twill make us proud to be his servant, Paris;
    Yea, what he shall receive of us in duty
    Gives us more palm in beauty than we have,
    Yea, overshines ourself.
  PARIS. Sweet, above thought I love thee.
Exeunt

 Pandarus and a servant enter. The servant tells Pandarus that the music that is being played within is being played at the request of Paris who is out with the mortal Venus, the heart-blood of beauty, loves visible soul. Pandarus takes this to refer to his cousin Cressida but the servant is actually talking of Helen. Pandarus states his business: he has been sent by Prince Troilus to speak with Paris, and says that he has to make an assault of complimentary speeches on Paris as he , is in a hurry. Paris and Helen enter with attendants. Pandarus breaks out into a speech that uses the word fair in various different ways. Fair be to you, my lord, and to all this fair company; fair desires in all fair measure fairly guide them - especially to you, fair queen: fair thoughts be your fair pillow. and so it goes on. Helen caps his compliments by telling him he is full of fair words. Throughout the scene, Helen gently teases Pandarus with mocking compliments. He then makes a reference to the good broken music or polyphonic music that is being played. Paris says that Pandarus has broke it or interrupted it, and insists that he make up for that with a performance. Pandarus says he is lacking in accomplishments. From this point onward he tries to distract Helens attention with trivialities while conveying his message to Paris. Helen constantly attempts to persuade Pandarus to sing, Pandarus just as constantly fends her off and does his embassy. Helen never finds out what they discuss. He conveys Troilus message to Paris that if the king Priam call for him at supper, Paris should make excuses for him. As the scene progresses, Pandarus speaks more and more to Helen as one might to a small child. Paris asks him What exploits in hand? Where sups he tonight?. In between treating Helen like a doltish child, Pandarus says to Paris: My cousin will fall out with you: you must not know where he sups. Pandarus means that he wont betray his secret explicitly, but feels that he can drop a hint to Paris. He lets on that Cressida would be annoyed if Paris persisted in such questions. Paris guesses correctly and says so, and Pandarus at length consents to sing, in order to turn the conversation and evade the teasing of Paris. Helen still does not see what is going on. Then Pandarus includes Helen once more in the conversation. He tells her that his niece is horribly in love with a thing you have, sweet queen. This means that Helen has a lover and Cressida has not. Helen half suspects an affair between Paris and Cressida and says that she can have whatever she wants as long as it is not Paris. Pandarus says Cressida wont want him as they are on ill terms. Helen says Falling in after falling out may make them three. Her wit is bawdy - she means that copulation may well lead to conception. Then to finally turn the conversation, Pandarus consents to sing. and breaks into a song on love. After this Helen says Pandarus seems to be in love to the tip of his nose. Paris says that he eats nothing but doves, which like pigeons, were associated with love . He says facetiously that doves breed hot blood which is an aphrodisiac that begets hot thoughts which in turn beget hot deeds, and hot deeds are love. After carrying the point to where he says hot blood, thoughts and deeds are vipers, and asking if love is a generation of vipers, Pandarus drops it to ask whos afield today? Paris replies that Hector, Deiphobus, Helenus, Antenor and all the nobility of Troy. He says that he would have armed himself but Helen, whom he addresses affectionately as Nell, wouldnt allow it. He asks Pandarus why Troilus didnt go. Helen again suspects that Pandarus knows something she doesnt and is hiding something. Pandarus slips back into flattery calling her honey-sweet queen to distract her and says that he longs to know the progress that day. Then in an aside he makes sure Paris wont forget about Troilus excuse. Then before he gets entangled in further dialogues with Helen, he leaves. Sounds of a retreat filter in. Paris says the warriors have come from the field, and suggests that they go to Priams hall, where Helen must help unarm Hector with her white enchanting fingers. Helen agrees, and the scene ends with Paris telling her, above thought I love thee. Then they exit.

