Monologue

Menenius Monologue from Coriolanus

From Coriolanus by William Shakespeare

male · defiant · 57 sec

Rehearse this freeFind more monologues
I tell you, friends, most charitable care Have the patricians of you. For your wants, Your suffering in this dearth, you may as well Strike at the heaven with your staves as lift them Against the Roman state, whose course will on The way it takes, cracking ten thousand curbs Of more strong link asunder than can ever Appear in your impediment. For the dearth, The gods, not the patricians, make it, and Your knees to them, not arms, must help. Alack, You are transported by calamity Thither where more attends you, and you slander The helms o’ th’ state, who care for you like fathers, When you curse them as enemies.

About this piece

Menenius addresses the citizens of Rome, attempting to persuade them to trust the patricians and understand the nature of their suffering amidst a time of dearth and political tension.

40s · trust · power · family · suffering · redemption

Rehearse Menenius'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 Coriolanus

Browse