Monologue

Bastard Monologue from King John

From King John by William Shakespeare

male · defiant · 53 sec

Indeed, your drums, being beaten, will cry out; And so shall you, being beaten. Do but start And echo with the clamour of thy drum, And even at hand a drum is ready brac’d That shall reverberate all as loud as thine. Sound but another, and another shall, As loud as thine, rattle the welkin’s ear And mock the deep-mouth’d thunder. For at hand, Not trusting to this halting legate here, Whom he hath us’d rather for sport than need, Is warlike John; and in his forehead sits A bare-ribb’d death, whose office is this day To feast upon whole thousands of the French.

About this piece

The character, Bastard, is rallying support for war against the French, expressing his disdain for the current diplomatic approach and emphasizing the impending violence.

20s · anger · power · death · war · betrayal

Rehearse Bastard's monologue

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