Monologue

First Lord Monologue from As You Like It

From As You Like It by William Shakespeare

male · melancholic · 1:08 min

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Indeed, my lord, The melancholy Jaques grieves at that, And in that kind swears you do more usurp Than doth your brother that hath banished you. Today my lord of Amiens and myself Did steal behind him as he lay along Under an oak, whose antique root peeps out Upon the brook that brawls along this wood; To the which place a poor sequestered stag, That from the hunter’s aim had ta’en a hurt, Did come to languish; and indeed, my lord, The wretched animal heaved forth such groans That their discharge did stretch his leathern coat Almost to bursting, and the big round tears Coursed one another down his innocent nose In piteous chase. And thus the hairy fool, Much marked of the melancholy Jaques, Stood on th’ extremest verge of the swift brook, Augmenting it with tears.

About this piece

The First Lord observes the sorrowful state of Jaques as he reflects on the plight of a wounded stag, drawing parallels to themes of grief and isolation in the natural world.

30s · melancholy · isolation · death · nature · grief

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