Monologue

Duchess Monologue from The Duchess of Padua

From The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde

female · romantic · 56 sec

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Alas! my lord, I have it not: the first day that I saw you I let you take my heart away from me; Unwilling thief, that without meaning it Did break into my fenced treasury And filch my jewel from it! O strange theft, Which made you richer though you knew it not, And left me poorer, and yet glad of it! GUIDO O love, love, love! Nay, sweet, lift up your head, Let me unlock those little scarlet doors That shut in music, let me dive for coral In your red lips, and I’ll bear back a prize Richer than all the gold the Gryphon guards In rude Armenia.

About this piece

The Duchess expresses her feelings of love and loss, reflecting on how her heart was taken by the one she loves, while simultaneously feeling a strange joy in that loss.

20s · longing · love · desire · loss · riches

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