Monologue

Theseus Monologue from A Midsummer Night's Dream

From A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

male · philosophical · 52 sec

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Either to die the death, or to abjure For ever the society of men. Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires, Know of your youth, examine well your blood, Whether, if you yield not to your father’s choice, You can endure the livery of a nun, For aye to be in shady cloister mew’d, To live a barren sister all your life, Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon. Thrice-blessèd they that master so their blood To undergo such maiden pilgrimage, But earthlier happy is the rose distill’d Than that which, withering on the virgin thorn, Grows, lives, and dies, in single blessedness.

About this piece

Theseus addresses Hermia, presenting her with a grave choice between obedience to her father or a life of isolation as a nun, reflecting on the nature of love and personal freedom.

30s · fear · love · freedom · identity · isolation

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