Monologue

Salisbury Monologue from King John

From King John by William Shakespeare

male · anguished · 2:02 min

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Upon our sides it never shall be broken. And, noble Dauphin, albeit we swear A voluntary zeal and an unurg’d faith To your proceedings; yet believe me, prince, I am not glad that such a sore of time Should seek a plaster by contemn’d revolt, And heal the inveterate canker of one wound By making many. O, it grieves my soul That I must draw this metal from my side To be a widow-maker! O, and there Where honourable rescue and defence Cries out upon the name of Salisbury! But such is the infection of the time, That, for the health and physic of our right, We cannot deal but with the very hand Of stern injustice and confused wrong. And is’t not pity, O my grieved friends, That we, the sons and children of this isle, Were born to see so sad an hour as this; Wherein we step after a stranger, march Upon her gentle bosom, and fill up Her enemies’ ranks? I must withdraw and weep Upon the spot of this enforced cause, To grace the gentry of a land remote, And follow unacquainted colours here. What, here? O nation, that thou couldst remove! That Neptune’s arms, who clippeth thee about, Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyself And grapple thee unto a pagan shore, Where these two Christian armies might combine The blood of malice in a vein of league, And not to spend it so unneighbourly!

About this piece

Salisbury expresses deep sorrow and frustration over the necessity of engaging in conflict, reflecting on the painful reality of war and the betrayal of their homeland.

40s · sadness · honor · betrayal · war · identity

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