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One word littered throughout Troilus and Criseyde is ‘die’, or as Chaucer would have written it ‘deye’. Troilus is

continuously stating how he will undoubtedly die if Criseyde denies her his love. His extreme self-centeredness and

confusion of the true meaning of death are very apparent. Criseyde even begins to believe that she could easily kill Troilus

if she does not nurture his idealistic romantic notions. Panderus makes sure he is a part of their strange relationship, only

kindling their confused notions. Troilus should indeed have death on mind, since the war of Troy is occurring. He does not

once stop to consider the real loss of lives that are occurring outside of his egotistical mind.

Troilus is not the only character to throw the word die around lightly. Chaucer wants to make it extremely clear to the reader the many instances the word die can be misused by Troilus, Panderus, and Criseyde. The characters do not define death as a physical injury, but as an inner pain or sadness at its extremes. If Criseyde did not believe that Troilus would indeed die by her denial of him, would she have accepted him? Chaucer is showing a world of twisted ideals.

Their constant references to death are indeed ironic since we as readers are already aware that Troilus and Criseyde will be dead by the end of the story. It does not seem that they are predicting their own deaths though. Troilus is the type who believes he will be forever young, and can therefore throw ideas of death about more easily than an older person would. Panderus is older, but he does act his age, he therefore does not count. He surrounds himself in the love traumas of younger people, imagining that he is also young, and will remain immortal around them.

At the beginning of the first book, Troilus begins to bemoan his sad circumstances concerning love.  He states, “Allas! what is this wonder maladye?  For hete of cold, for cold of hete, I deye.”  From the very beginning Troilus does not understand love, and becomes overdramatic.  Panderus is continually threatening Criseyde that if she does not choose Troilus’s love she will be the death of him.  He states, “Doth what yow list, to make him live or deye.”  Panderus does a very good job of convincing Criseyde of her duty to save Troilus.  He predicts the future to Criseyde if she does not gratify Troilus.

               `Allas! He which that is my lord so dere,

               That trewe man, that noble gentil knight,

               That nought desireth but your freendly chere,

               I see him deye, ther he goth up-right,

   And hasteth him, with al his fulle might,   

   For to be slayn, if fortune wol assente;

               Allas! That god yow swich a beautee sente!

               Criseyde quickly joins in on the idea of dying from the pain of love.  She says, “Til I myn owene herte blood may see; For certayn, I wole deye as sone as he --.”'  Panderus and Troilus have dragged an innocent woman to their sad depths.  Before they started petitioning her for love she was content, with no thoughts of death.  She comes to believe that she is truly in love and that she must do as Panderus asks of her for the sake of her life and Troilus’s.  She makes the mistake of trusting in the men around her that she should have been able to look to for wise advice.  Instead, the men are childish, with mixed priorities.  Panderus and Troilus should be concerned with the well-being of their state, not the constant focus on their love lives.  This is what makes the story funny.

 Cassia Herndon 11/06