Monologue

Falstaff Monologue from Henry IV, Part 1

From Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare

male · anguished · 1:37 min

Rehearse this freeFind more monologues
Bardolph, am I not fallen away vilely since this last action? Do I not bate? Do I not dwindle? Why, my skin hangs about me like an old lady’s loose gown. I am withered like an old apple-john. Well, I’ll repent, and that suddenly, while I am in some liking. I shall be out of heart shortly, and then I shall have no strength to repent. An I have not forgotten what the inside of a church is made of, I am a peppercorn, a brewer’s horse. The inside of a church! Company, villainous company, hath been the spoil of me. (BARDOLPH: Sir John, you are so fretful, you cannot live long.) Why, there is it. Come, sing me a song, make me merry. I was as virtuously given as a gentleman need to be, virtuous enough; swore little; diced not above seven times—a week; went to a bawdy house not above once in a quarter—in an hour; paid money that I borrowed—three or four times; lived well and in good compass; and now I live out of all order, out of all compass.

About this piece

40s · despair · identity · redemption · isolation · death

Rehearse Falstaff'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 Henry IV, Part 1

  • Kinginspirational · 2:03 min
  • Kingjoyful · 2:13 min
  • Kinganguished · 1:13 min
  • Falstaffsarcastic · 1:13 min
  • Poinscomedic · 1:05 min
  • Princephilosophical · 1:45 min

Browse