Monologue

Clown Monologue from All's Well That Ends Well

From All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare

male · comedic · 1:37 min

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I have been, madam, a wicked creature, as you and all flesh and blood are; and indeed I do marry that I may repent. (COUNTESS: Thy marriage, sooner than thy wickedness.) I am out of friends, madam, and I hope to have friends for my wife’s sake. (COUNTESS: Such friends are thine enemies, knave.) Y’are shallow, madam, in great friends; for the knaves come to do that for me which I am a-weary of. He that ears my land spares my team, and gives me leave to in the crop: if I be his cuckold, he’s my drudge. He that comforts my wife is the cherisher of my flesh and blood; he that cherishes my flesh and blood loves my flesh and blood; he that loves my flesh and blood is my friend; ergo, he that kisses my wife is my friend. If men could be contented to be what they are, there were no fear in marriage; for young Charbon the puritan and old Poysam the papist, howsome’er their hearts are sever’d in religion, their heads are both one; they may jowl horns together like any deer i’ the herd.

About this piece

The Clown humorously reflects on the complexities of marriage and friendship, using witty wordplay to comment on the relationships between men and women.

any · comedic · marriage · friendship · identity · humor

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