Monologue

To The May Fly Monologue from Every Man in His Humour

From Every Man in His Humour by Ben Jonson

any · philosophical · 58 sec

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Thou art a frail and lovely thing, Engender’d by the sun: A moment only on the wing, And thy career is done. Thou sportest in the evening beam An hour--an age to thee-- In gaiety above the stream, Which soon thy grave must be. Although thy life is like to thee An atom--art thou not Far happier than thou e’er couldst be If long life were thy lot? For then deep pangs might wound thy breast And make thee wish for death; But as it is thou’rt soon at rest Thou creature of a breath! And man’s life passeth thus away, A thing of joy and sorrow-- The earth he treads upon to-day Shall cover him to-morrow.

About this piece

The character reflects on the fleeting nature of life, comparing the brief existence of a mayfly to that of humans, contemplating the joys and sorrows that accompany mortality.

any · melancholy · life · death · transience · existence

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