Monologue

Othello Monologue

From Othello by William Shakespeare

male · anguished · 1:19 min

Soft you; a word or two before you go. I have done the state some service, and they know’t. No more of that. I pray you, in your letters, When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, Speak of me as I am. Nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice. Then must you speak Of one that loved not wisely, but too well; Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought, Perplex’d in the extreme; of one whose hand, Like the base Judean, threw a pearl away Richer than all his tribe; of one whose subdu’d eyes, Albeit unused to the melting mood, Drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees Their medicinal gum. Set you down this. And say besides, that in Aleppo once, Where a malignant and a turban’d Turk Beat a Venetian and traduc’d the state, I took by the throat the circumcised dog, And smote him, thus. (Stabs himself.)

About this piece

Othello reflects on his life and actions as he faces the consequences of his choices, expressing a deep sense of regret and sorrow over his lost love and the betrayal he has experienced.

30s · sadness · love · betrayal · identity · redemption

Rehearse Othello'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.

More from Othello

Every speech from Othello, printed in full

Browse