Monologue

Sergius Monologue from Arms and the Man

From Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw

male · defiant · 1:20 min

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(with bitter levity.) Not a bit. They all slashed and cursed and yelled like heroes. Psha! the courage to rage and kill is cheap. I have an English bull terrier who has as much of that sort of courage as the whole Bulgarian nation, and the whole Russian nation at its back. But he lets my groom thrash him, all the same. That’s your soldier all over! No, Louka, your poor men can cut throats; but they are afraid of their officers; they put up with insults and blows; they stand by and see one another punished like children—-aye, and help to do it when they are ordered. And the officers!—-well (with a short, bitter laugh) I am an officer. Oh, (fervently) give me the man who will defy to the death any power on earth or in heaven that sets itself up against his own will and conscience: he alone is the brave man.

About this piece

Sergius expresses his disdain for traditional notions of bravery and the hypocrisy of military hierarchy, contrasting true courage with the cowardice he perceives in soldiers and officers.

20s · anger · power · courage · identity · honor

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