Monologue

Claudio Monologue from Much Ado About Nothing

From Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

male · dark · 1:22 min

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Stand thee by, Friar. Father, by your leave: Will you with free and unconstrained soul Give me this maid, your daughter? (LEONATO: As freely, son, as God did give her me.) And what have I to give you back whose worth May counterpoise this rich and precious gift? (DON PEDRO: Nothing, unless you render her again.) Sweet Prince, you learn me noble thankfulness. There, Leonato, take her back again: Give not this rotten orange to your friend; She’s but the sign and semblance of her honour. Behold! how like a maid she blushes here. O! what authority and show of truth Can cunning sin cover itself withal. Comes not that blood as modest evidence To witness simple virtue? Would you not swear, All you that see her, that she were a maid, By these exterior shows? But she is none: She knows the heat of a luxurious bed; Her blush is guiltiness, not modesty.

About this piece

Claudio confronts Leonato about his betrothed, Hero, accusing her of infidelity based on perceived evidence, revealing his deep feelings of betrayal and anger.

20s · anger · betrayal · honor · jealousy · deception

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