ABSTRACT

The Classical Monologue in two volumes, one for men and one for women, is a fresh selection of the best speeches from the repertoire of the classical theatre, from the Greeks to the beginning of the 20th century. These great dramatic monologues--from all periods and styles, all varied in tone and genre--make an indispensable actor's companion for auditioning, rehearsing and performing. Each monologue is accompanied by textual notes explaining any unusual vocabulary or syntax, and by commentary in which the editors offer interpretative points and practical advice in preparing the speech for performance. Both beginners and experienced actors will find The Classical Monologue a treasury of theatrical riches waiting to be released on stage.

chapter |3 pages

Libation Bearers (The Oresteia)

(c. 458 BC) Aeschylus

chapter |4 pages

Oedipus the King

(c. 430 BC) Sophocles

chapter |4 pages

Hippolytus

(c. 428 BC) Euripides

chapter |3 pages

The Spanish Tragedy

(c. 1586) Thomas Kyd

chapter |4 pages

Doctor Faustus

(c. 1589) Christopher Marlowe

chapter |3 pages

Henry VI (Part 1) (1592)

William Shakespeare

chapter |3 pages

Arden of Feversham

(c. 1592) Anonymous

chapter |3 pages

Edward II

(c. 1594) Christopher Marlowe

chapter |3 pages

Edward II

(c. 1594) Christopher Marlowe

chapter |4 pages

Romeo and Juliet

(c. 1595) William Shakespeare

chapter |3 pages

Hamlet

(1601) William Shakespeare

chapter |2 pages

A Woman Killed with Kindness

(1603) Thomas Heywood

chapter |4 pages

The Honest Whore (Part 1)

(1604) Thomas Dekker

chapter |3 pages

Volpone

(1605) Ben Jonson

chapter |3 pages

Coriolanus

(1607–9) William Shakespeare

chapter |3 pages

The Revenger's Tragedy

(1607) Cyril Tourneur (attrib.)

chapter |4 pages

The Alchemist

(1610) Ben Jonson

chapter |3 pages

The White Devil

(1612) John Webster

chapter |3 pages

The Changeling

(c. 1622) Thomas Middleton & William Rowley

chapter |3 pages

'Tis Pity She's a Whore

(1625–33) John Ford

chapter |3 pages

Life is a Dream

(1635) Calderón [Pedro Calderón de la Barca]

chapter |2 pages

The Misanthrope

(1666) Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin]

chapter |3 pages

The Miser

(1668) Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin]

chapter |3 pages

Phedra

(1677) Jean Racine

chapter |2 pages

The Country Wife

(1675) William Wycherley

chapter |2 pages

The Rover (Part 1)

(1678) Aphra Behn

chapter |3 pages

The Double Dealer

(1694) William Congreve

chapter |2 pages

Love for Love

(1695) William Congreve

chapter |3 pages

The Relapse

(1696) Sir John Vanbrugh

chapter |2 pages

The Provok'd Wife

(1697) Sir John Vanbrugh

chapter |2 pages

The Constant Couple

(1699) George Farquhar

chapter |3 pages

The Way of the World

(1700) William Congreve

chapter |2 pages

The Rivals

(1775) Richard Brinsley Sheridan

chapter |3 pages

The Critic

(1779) Richard Brinsley Sheridan

chapter |3 pages

Lady Windermere's Fan

(1892) Oscar Wilde

chapter |3 pages

A Woman of No Importance

(1893) Oscar Wilde

chapter |3 pages

The Second Mrs Tanqueray

(1893) Arthur Wing Pinero

chapter |3 pages

An Ideal Husband

(1895) Oscar Wilde

chapter |3 pages

Man and Superman

(1903) Bernard Shaw

chapter |2 pages

The Playboy of the Western World

(1907) J M Synge

chapter |3 pages

Heartbreak House

(1919) Bernard Shaw

chapter |2 pages

Woyzeck

(1836–7) Georg Büchner

chapter |3 pages

The Government Inspector

(1836) Nikolai Gogol

chapter |3 pages

A Month in the Country

(1850) Ivan Turgenev

chapter |2 pages

A Doll's House

(1879) Henrik Ibsen

chapter |2 pages

Miss Julie

(1888) August Strindberg

chapter |3 pages

The Seagull

(1896) Anton Chekhov

chapter |3 pages

The Dance of Death

(1900) August Strindberg

chapter |3 pages

The Cherry Orchard

(1904) Anton Chekhov