Well, I'm not of the peasant class, nor of the aristocracy. I'm of the double-edged class. (MARTHA: What's that?.) Merci. Why this; that my father was a Polish Count, and besides him I had many others; and I also had two mothers. In general my biography presents many difficulties. (MARTHA: Have another cup? Well, did you get any learning?) My learning has also been very uncircumstantial. Not my mother, but my godmother apprenticed me to a blacksmith. That blacksmith was my first perdagogue; and his perdagogy consisted in this--that he did not beat his anvil as often as he beat my unfortunate head. Nevertheless, however much he hit me, he could not deprive me of talent. Then I went to a locksmith's, and there I was appreciated, and became foreman. I made acquaintance with educated people, and belonged to a political faction. I was able to master intellectual literature; and my life might have been elevated for I possessed immense talent. AKULÍNA. Of course.

Tramp Monologue from The Cause of it All

Rehearse Tramp's monologue