Whether you’re choosing a Shakespeare monologue for a drama school audition or are preparing to audition for a production, selecting the right monologue could mean the difference between impressing the panel or not. From Jacques’ “All the world’s a stage” to Henry V’s “Once more unto the breach, dear friends”, the best-known Shakespeare monologues are favoured for their universal sentiments, emotional arc, and depth of feeling.
If one of the big guns speaks to you most, look for ways to bring a fresh interpretation to the character. However, choosing a lesser-known monologue can make the audition panel listen more intently to your work (plus, there’s a little less pressure if you fluff a line). Here are 10 Shakespeare monologues that span a range of male and female characters but can be performed by actors of any gender, age, or genre. All should allow you to convey a range of emotions in a single speech.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “I have had a most rare vision”
Act 4, Scene 1
Character: Bottom
Context: Oberon, king of fairies, has removed the donkey head from Bottom and put him to sleep so he will believe his adventure with Titania, queen of the fairies, was just a dream. Bottom awakes, initially disoriented, thinking he’s still in the middle of rehearsing Pyramus and Thisby with his fellow mechanicals.
Best for: Showcasing a character’s unique, whimsical perspective. This speech combines elements of comedy and wonder – it begs you to have some fun with it!
When my cue comes, call me,
and I will answer. My next is “Most fair Pyramus.”
Hey-ho! Peter Quince! Flute the bellows-mender!
Snout the tinker! Starveling! God’s my life! Stolen
hence and left me asleep! I have had a most rare
vision. I have had a dream past the wit of man to say
what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about
to expound this dream. Methought I was—there
is no man can tell what. Methought I was and
methought I had—but man is but a patched fool if
he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of
man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen,
man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to
conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream
was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this
dream. It shall be called “Bottom’s Dream” because
it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the
latter end of a play, before the Duke. Peradventure,
to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it at her
Death.
Twelfth Night: “I left no ring with her”
Act 2, Scene 2
Character: Viola
Context: Viola, disguised as Duke Orsino’s pageboy, has delivered a love message to Olivia on Orsino’s behalf, but Olivia falls in love with the disguised Viola and sends her steward Cesario chasing after Viola with a ring.
Best for: Portraying confusion, love, and realisation while maintaining the comedic undertones of the play. It’s great for demonstrating versatility and emotional range.
I left no ring with her. What means this lady?
Fortune forbid my outside have not charmed her!
She made good view of me, indeed so much
That methought her eyes had lost her tongue,
For she did speak in starts distractedly.
She loves me, sure! The cunning of her passion
Invites me in this churlish messenger.
None of my lord’s ring? Why, he sent her none!
I am the man. If it be so, as ’tis,
Poor lady, she were better love a dream.
Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much.
How easy is it for the proper false
In women’s waxen hearts to set their forms!
Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we,
For such as we are made of, such we be.
How will this fadge? My master loves her dearly,
And I, poor monster, fond as much on him,
And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me.
What will become of this? As I am man,
My state is desperate for my master’s love.
As I am woman (now, alas the day!),
What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe!
O Time, thou must untangle this, not I.
It is too hard a knot for me t’ untie.
Othello: “I hate the Moor”
Act I, Scene 3
Character: Iago
Context: Iago is Othello’s ensign (a lower-ranking officer) and harbours a grudge against him for several reasons. Firstly, Iago is upset because Othello promoted Cassio, a less experienced soldier, to the position of lieutenant, a role Iago thought was his. Secondly, Iago suspects Othello has been involved with his own wife, Emilia.
Best for: Demonstrating your ability to play complex villains. Iago's cunning and malevolent nature is on full display in this monologue.
Thus do I ever make my fool my purse:
For I mine own gain'd knowledge should profane,
If I would time expend with such a snipe.
But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor:
And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets
He has done my office: I know not if't be true;
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do as if for surety. He holds me well;
The better shall my purpose work on him.
Cassio's a proper man: let me see now:
To get his place and to plume up my will
In double knavery—How, how? Let's see:—
After some time, to abuse Othello's ear
That he is too familiar with his wife.
He hath a person and a smooth dispose
To be suspected, framed to make women false.
The Moor is of a free and open nature,
That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,
And will as tenderly be led by the nose
As asses are. I have't. It is engender'd. Hell and night
Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light.
Richard II: “Call it not patience, Gaunt, it is despair”
Act 1, Scene 2
Character: Duchess of Gloucester
Context: The Duchess of Gloucester mourns the death of her husband, who was murdered under suspicious circumstances. She suspects foul play and believes that King Richard II and his supporters are responsible. In this monologue, she appeals to John of Gaunt to take action against the perpetrators of her husband’s murder.
Best for: Exploring deep emotions. The Duchess’s profound grief over her husband’s murder infuses the monologue with emotional intensity. Her sorrow is palpable, making it a powerful piece.
Finds brotherhood in thee no sharper spur?
Hath blood in thy old blood no living fire?
Edward’s seven sons, whereof thyself art one,
Were as seven vials of his sacred blood,
Or seven fair branches springing from one root.
Some of those seven are dried by nature’s course,
Some of those branches by the destinies cut;
But Thomas, my dear lord, my life, my Gloucester,
One vial full of Edward’s sacred blood,
One flourishing branch of his most royal root,
Is cracked, and all the precious liquor spilt;
Is hacked down, and his summer leaves all faded
By envy’s hand and murder’s bloody axe.
Ah, Gaunt, his blood was thine! That bed, that womb,
That mettle, that self mould that fashioned thee,
Made him a man; and though thou liv’st and breathest,
Yet art thou slain in him. Thou dost consent
In some large measure to thy father’s death
In that thou seest thy wretched brother die,
Who was the model of thy father’s life.
Call it not patience, Gaunt, it is despair.
In suff’ring thus thy brother to be slaughtered
Thou show’st the naked pathway to thy life,
Teaching stern murder how to butcher thee.
That which in mean men we entitle patience
Is pale cold cowardice in noble breasts.
What shall I say? To safeguard thine own life
The best way is to venge my Gloucester’s death.
King Lear: “Thou, nature, art my goddess”
Act 1, Scene 2
Character: Edmund
Context: In this monologue, Gloucester’s illegitimate son Edmund reveals his disdain for societal norms that favour legitimate children over illegitimate ones and declares his intent to pursue his own path by any means necessary.
Best for: Exploring themes of resentment and determination.
Thou, nature, art my goddess; to thy law
My services are bound. Wherefore should I
Stand in the plague of custom, and permit
The curiosity of nations to deprive me,
For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines
Lag of a brother? Why bastard? wherefore base?
When my dimensions are as well compact,
My mind as generous, and my shape as true,
As honest madam's issue? Why brand they us
With base? with baseness? bastardy? base, base?
Who, in the lusty stealth of nature, take
More composition and fierce quality
Than doth, within a dull, stale, tired bed,
Go to the creating a whole tribe of fops,
Got 'tween asleep and wake? Well then,
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land:
Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund
As to the legitimate: fine word,—legitimate!
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed,
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper:
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
Jonas Petrovas/Shutterstock
Antony and Cleopatra: “I would I had thy inches”
Act 1, Scene 3
Character: Cleopatra
Context: The monologue takes place in Cleopatra's palace in Alexandria. Antony is preparing to leave Egypt to return to Rome, and Cleopatra is trying to come to terms with his departure.
Best for: Exploring a range of emotions and dynamics, from sorrowful longing to fiery reproach. There are moments that call for a soft, mournful tone and others that demand a forceful, authoritative delivery.
Pray you, stand farther from me.
I know by that same eye there’s some good news.
What says the married woman—you may go?
Would she had never given you leave to come.
Let her not say t’is I who keep you here.
I have no power upon you; hers you are.
Never was there queen so mightily betrayed!
Yet at the first I saw the treasons planted.
Why should I think you can be mine and true—
Though you in swearing shake the throned gods—
Who have been false to Fulvia? Riotous madness,
To be entangled with those mouth-made vows
Which break themselves in swearing.
Nay, pray you, seek no colour for your going,
But bid farewell and go. When you sued staying,
Then was the time for words; no going then.
Eternity was in our lips and eyes,
Bliss in our brows’ bent; none our parts so poor
But was a race of heaven. They are so still,
Or thou, the greatest soldier of the world,
Art turned the greatest liar.
I would I had thy inches. Thou should’st know
There were a heart in Egypt.
Much Ado About Nothing: “The world must be peopled”
Act 2, Scene 3
Character: Benedick
Context: Benedick and Beatrice have a witty and combative relationship, constantly engaging in a “merry war” of words. Both swear they’ll never marry. In this scene, Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato have staged a conversation within earshot of Benedick, deliberately discussing Beatrice’s supposed love for him, hoping to trick him into admitting his own feelings for her. Benedick hides and listens to their conversation, gradually becoming convinced of Beatrice’s love for him.
Best for: Balancing comedy with tender emotion. Benedick’s monologue is both humorous and heartfelt as he grapples with his feelings for Beatrice.
This can be no trick. The
conference was sadly borne; they have the truth of
this from Hero; they seem to pity the lady. It seems
her affections have their full bent. Love me? Why, it
must be requited! I hear how I am censured. They
say I will bear myself proudly if I perceive the love
come from her. They say, too, that she will rather
die than give any sign of affection. I did never think
to marry. I must not seem proud. Happy are they
that hear their detractions and can put them to
mending. They say the lady is fair; ’tis a truth, I can
bear them witness. And virtuous; ’tis so, I cannot
reprove it. And wise, but for loving me; by my troth,
it is no addition to her wit, nor no great argument of
her folly, for I will be horribly in love with her! I
may chance have some odd quirks and remnants of
wit broken on me because I have railed so long
against marriage, but doth not the appetite alter? A
man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot
endure in his age. Shall quips and sentences and
these paper bullets of the brain awe a man from the
career of his humour? No! The world must be peopled.
When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not
think I should live till I were married. Here comes
Beatrice. By this day, she’s a fair lady. I do spy some
marks of love in her.
Cymbeline: “O, for a horse with wings!”
Act 3, Scene 2
Character: Imogen
Context: Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, has secretly married the commoner Posthumus Leonatus, which angers her father. As a result, Posthumus is banished from Britain. While in exile, Posthumus is tricked by the villainous Iachimo into believing Imogen has been unfaithful to him. Posthumus sends a letter to Pisanio, Imogen’s servant, instructing him to kill her. Pisanio reveals Posthumus’s letter to Imogen, but instead of killing her, he helps her disguise herself as a boy (Fidele) and flee to Wales to find Posthumus.
Best for: Conveying longing and hope. Imogen’s monologue expresses her deep desire to reunite with her banished husband.
O, for a horse with wings! Hear’st thou, Pisanio?
He is at Milford Haven. Read, and tell me
How far ’tis thither. If one of mean affairs
May plod it in a week, why may not I
Glide thither in a day? Then, true Pisanio,
Who long’st like me to see thy lord, who long’st—
O, let me bate—but not like me, yet long’st
But in a fainter kind—O, not like me,
For mine’s beyond beyond—say, and speak thick—
Love’s counsellor should fill the bores of hearing
To th’ smothering of the sense—how far it is
To this same blessèd Milford. And by th’ way
Tell me how Wales was made so happy as
T’ inherit such a haven. But first of all,
How we may steal from hence, and for the gap
That we shall make in time from our hence-going
And our return, to excuse. But first, how get hence?
Why should excuse be born or ’ere begot?
We’ll talk of that hereafter. Prithee speak,
How many score of miles may we well rid
’Twixt hour and hour?
Julius Caesar: “I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus”
Act 1, Scene 2
Character: Cassius
Context: Rome is rife with political tension as Julius Caesar’s power and influence grow. Cassius fears Caesar’s ambition will lead to tyranny and seeks to recruit Brutus, a respected senator and a close friend of Caesar, to join the conspiracy against Caesar. He knows that Brutus’s involvement will lend legitimacy to their cause.
Best for: Exhibiting a range of emotions, from jealousy and bitterness to admiration and persuasion. Cassius is passionate and articulate, making a compelling argument to sway Brutus.
I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus,
As well as I do know your outward favour.
Well, honour is the subject of my story.
I cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life; but, for my single self,
I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself.
I was born free as Caesar; so were you:
We both have fed as well, and we can both
Endure the winter's cold as well as he.
For once, upon a raw and gusty day,
The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores,
Caesar said to me 'Darest thou, Cassius, now
Leap in with me into this angry flood,
And swim to yonder point?' Upon the word,
Accoutred as I was, I plunged in
And bade him follow; so indeed he did.
The torrent roar'd, and we did buffet it
With lusty sinews, throwing it aside
And stemming it with hearts of controversy;
But ere we could arrive the point proposed,
Caesar cried 'Help me, Cassius, or I sink!'
I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor,
Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder
The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber
Did I the tired Caesar. And this man
Is now become a god, and Cassius is
A wretched creature and must bend his body
If Caesar carelessly but nod on him.
He had a fever when he was in Spain,
And when the fit was on him, I did mark
How he did shake. ’Tis true, this god did shake.
His coward lips did from their color fly,
And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world
Did lose his luster. I did hear him groan.
Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans
Mark him and write his speeches in their books,
“Alas,” it cried “Give me some drink, Titinius”
As a sick girl. You gods, it doth amaze me
A man of such feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world
And bear the palm alone.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “How happy some o’er other some can be!”
Act 1, Scene 1
Character: Helena
Context: The monologue takes place in Athens after Hermia and Lysander have announced their plan to flee to the forest to escape Hermia's arranged marriage to Demetrius. In it, Helena pines for Demetrius.
Best for: Exploring vulnerability and passion. Helena’s monologue is filled with longing and jealousy.
How happy some o’er other some can be!
Through Athens I am thought as fair as she.
But what of that? Demetrius thinks not so;
He will not know what all but he do know.
And as he errs, doting on Hermia's eyes,
So I, admiring of his qualities.
Things base and vile, holding no quantity,
Love can transpose to form and dignity.
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind;
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
Nor hath Love's mind of any judgement taste;
Wings, and no eyes, figure unheedy haste.
And therefore is Love said to be a child,
Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.
As waggish boys in game themselves forswear,
So the boy Love is perjured everywhere.
For ere Demetrius looked on Hermia's eyne,
He hailed down oaths that he was only mine;
And when this hail some heat from Hermia felt,
So he dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt.
I will go tell him of fair Hermia's flight;
Then to the wood will he tomorrow night
Pursue her; and for this intelligence
If I have thanks, it is a dear expense.
But herein mean I to enrich my pain,
To have his sight thither and back again.