Monologue

King Monologue from Henry VIII

From Henry VIII by William Shakespeare

male · dark · 1:02 min

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Know you not How your state stands i’ th’ world, with the whole world? Your enemies are many, and not small; their practices Must bear the same proportion, and not ever The justice and the truth o’ th’ question carries The due o’ th’ verdict with it. At what ease Might corrupt minds procure knaves as corrupt To swear against you? Such things have been done. You are potently opposed, and with a malice Of as great size. Ween you of better luck, I mean in perjured witness, than your master, Whose minister you are, whiles here he lived Upon this naughty earth? Go to, go to. You take a precipice for no leap of danger, And woo your own destruction.

About this piece

The King confronts a subject about the precariousness of their political situation, warning of the dangers posed by their enemies and the potential for betrayal.

40s · fear · power · betrayal · danger · corruption

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