Monologue

Gaunt Monologue from Richard II

From Richard II by William Shakespeare

male · anguished · 1:03 min

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O! spare me not, my brother Edward’s son, For that I was his father Edward’s son. That blood already, like the pelican, Hast thou tapped out, and drunkenly caroused. My brother Gloucester, plain well-meaning soul, Whom fair befall in heaven ’mongst happy souls!— May be a precedent and witness good That thou respect’st not spilling Edward’s blood. Join with the present sickness that I have, And thy unkindness be like crooked age To crop at once a too-long withered flower. Live in thy shame, but die not shame with thee! These words hereafter thy tormentors be! Convey me to my bed, then to my grave. Love they to live that love and honour have. (Exit, borne off by his Attendants.)

About this piece

Gaunt, in a moment of deep sorrow and reflection, confronts the loss of his family and the betrayal he feels, expressing his anguish over the state of his lineage and the consequences of violence.

60 and up · sadness · family · death · honor · betrayal

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