Monologue

Ceres Monologue from Proserpine

From Proserpine by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

female · anguished · 1:45 min

Rehearse this freeFind more monologues
:Alas! My boding heart,–I dread the worst. :Oh, careless nymphs! oh, heedless Proserpine! :And did you leave her wandering by herself? :She is immortal,–yet unusual fear :Runs through my veins. Let all the woods be sought, :Let every dryad, every gamesome faun :Tell where they last beheld her snowy feet :Tread the soft, mossy paths of the wild wood. :But that I see the base of Etna firm :I well might fear that she had fallen a prey :To Earth-born Typheus, who might have arisen :And seized her as the fairest child of heaven, :That in his dreary caverns she lies bound; :It is not so: all is as safe and calm :As when I left my child. Oh, fatal day! :Eunoe does not return: in vain she seeks :Through the black woods and down the darksome glades, :And night is hiding all things from our view. :I will away, and on the highest top :Of snowy Etna, kindle two clear flames. :Night shall not hide her from my anxious search, :No moment will I rest, or sleep, or pause :Till she returns, until I clasp again :My only loved one, my lost Proserpine.

About this piece

Ceres expresses her deep fear and anxiety over the disappearance of her daughter Proserpine, feeling compelled to search for her despite the darkness of the woods.

40s · fear · family · loss · search

Rehearse Ceres's monologue

Run it out loud with a spotlight that follows your voice, line by line, until it's off the page. Free to start, no credit card.

Rehearse freeStart rehearsing

More from Proserpine

Browse