Monologue

Duchess Monologue from Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Oxford 1911)/Volume 4/The Tragedy of King Richard the Second

From Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Oxford 1911)/Volume 4/The Tragedy of King Richard the Second by Oxford 1911

female · anguished · 2:02 min

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:Finds brotherhood in thee no sharper spur? :Hath love in thy old blood no living fire? :Edward's seven sons, whereof thyself art one, :Were as seven vials of his sacred blood, :Or seven fair branches springing from one root: :Some of those seven are dried by nature's course, :Some of those branches by the Destinies cut; :But Thomas, my dear lord, my life, my Gloucester, :One vial full of Edward's sacred blood, :One flourishing branch of his most royal root, :Is crack'd, and all the precious liquor spilt; :Is hack'd down, and his summer leaves all vaded, :By envy's hand and murder's bloody axe. :Ah, Gaunt! his blood was thine: that bed, that womb, :That metal, that self-mould, that fashion'd thee, :Made him a man; and though thou liv'st and breath'st, :Yet art thou slain in him: thou dost consent :In some large measure to thy father's death :In that thou seest thy wretched brother die, :Who was the model of thy father's life. :Call it not patience, Gaunt; it is despair: :In suffering thus thy brother to be slaughter'd, :Thou showest the naked pathway to thy life, :Teaching stern murder how to butcher thee: :That which in mean men we entitle patience :Is pale cold cowardice in noble breasts. :What shall I say? To safeguard thine own life, :The best way is to venge my Gloucester's death.

About this piece

The Duchess laments the death of her brother Gloucester and confronts Gaunt about his inaction, expressing deep sorrow and a desire for vengeance.

40s · despair · family · death · revenge · betrayal

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