Monologue

Mam Monologue from The Alchemist

From The Alchemist by Ben Jonson

female · defiant · 1:11 min

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I am pleased the glory of her sex should know, This nook, here, of the Friars is no climate For her to live obscurely in, to learn Physic and surgery, for the constable's wife Of some odd hundred in Essex; but come forth, And taste the air of palaces; eat, drink The toils of empirics, and their boasted practice; Tincture of pearl, and coral, gold, and amber; Be seen at feasts and triumphs; have it ask'd, What miracle she is; set all the eyes Of court a-fire, like a burning glass, And work them into cinders, when the jewels Of twenty states adorn thee, and the light Strikes out the stars! that when thy name is mention'd, Queens may look pale; and we but shewing our love, Nero's Poppaea may be lost in story! Thus will we have it.

About this piece

Mam expresses her desire for a life of grandeur and recognition, urging a woman to rise above obscurity and embrace a life filled with luxury and admiration.

30s · anticipation · ambition · power · identity · desire

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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.

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