Are you funny? Like a clown? Do you amuse me? Are you here for my entertainment? Let’s face it, being funny is one of the most deceptively hard things to do on command. There is a science to comedy. It’s mathematical, its calculated, it requires precision and pinpoint timing. Farts are also funny. But in the case you find yourself too bashful to break wind in the audition room we have compiled a few lists of comedic monologues for boys to practice on.

Great comedic monologues for men aren’t that hard to come by, but they can be difficult to execute correctly. When auditioning for a comedic role, it’s crucial that you choose a monologue that will help your personality shine through while allowing you to come across as the characters completely.

In this article, we have great comedic monologues for men from many wonderful plays. We’ll also explore 10 hilarious male monologues from movies that showcase comedic talent. Whether you’re an aspiring actor or simply seeking some side-splitting entertainment, these monologues are sure to hit the mark. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the world of comedic monologues for men and find the perfect piece to leave your audience in stitches

Comedic Monologues For Men

1. Tartuffe By Moliere

TARTUFFE: A love of heavenly beauty does not preclude
A proper love for earthly pulchritude;
Our senses are quite rightly captivated
By perfect works our Maker has created.
Some glory clings to all that Heaven has made;
In you, all Heaven’s marvels are displayed.
On that fair face, such beauties have been lavished,
The eyes are dazzled and the heart is ravished;
How could I look on you, O flawless creature,
And not adore the Author of all Nature,
Feeling a love both passionate and pure
For you, his triumph of self-portraiture?
At first, I trembled lest that love should be
A subtle snare that Hell had laid for me;
I vowed to flee the sight of you, eschewing
A rapture that might prove my soul’s undoing;
But soon, fair being, I became aware
That my deep passion could be made to square
With rectitude, and with my bounden duty.
I thereupon surrendered to your beauty.
It is, I know, presumptuous on my part
To bring you this poor offering of my heart,
And it is not my merit, Heaven knows,
But your compassion on which my hopes repose.
You are my peace, my solace, my salvation;
On you depends my bliss – or desolation;
I bide your judgment and, as you think best,
I shall be either miserable or blest.

Age: 20s 30s 40s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

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2. Fat Pig By Neil Lubute

TOM: I’m weak. That’s what I basically learned from our time together. I am a weak person, and I don’t know if I can overcome that. No, maybe I do know. Yeah. I do know that I am, and I can’t… overcome it, I mean. I think you are an amazing woman, I honestly do. And I really love what we’ve had here. Our time together… But I think that we’re very different people. Not just who we are- jobs or that kind of thing- but it does play into it as well. Factors in. We probably should’ve realized this earlier, but I’ve been so happy being near you that I just sorta overlooked it and went on. I did. But I feel it coming up now, more and more, and I just think- No, that’s bullshit, actually, the whole work thing.

Age: 20s 30s 40s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

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3. The Importance of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde

ALGERNON: I haven’t the smallest intention of dining with Aunt Augusta. To begin with, I dined thereon Monday, and once a week is quite enough to dine with one’s own relations. In thesecond place, whenever I do dine there I am always treated as a member of the family,and sent down with either no woman at all, or two. In the third place, I know perfectlywell whom she will place me next to, to-night. She will place me next Mary Farquhar,who always flirts with her own husband across the dinner-table. That is not very pleasant. Indeed, it is not even decent . . . and that sort of thing is enormously on the increase. The amount of women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply washing one’s clean linen in public.

Age: 30s 40s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: Yes

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4. Leo Bloom from “The Producers” – I Would Like to Say Something

Monologue: “I would like to say something your honor, not on my behalf, but in reference to my partner, Mr. Bialystock….your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Max Bialystock is the most selfish man I ever met in my life…Not only is he liar, and a cheat and a scoundrel, and a crook, who has taken money from little old ladies, he has also talked people into doing things, especially me, that they would never in a thousand years had dreamed of doing. But, your honor, as I understand it the law was created to protect people from being wronged. Your honor, whom has Max Bialystock wronged? I mean, whom has he really hurt? Not me. Not me. I was…. this man…. no one ever called me Leo before. I mean, I know it’s not a big legal point, but even in kindergarten they used to call me Bloom. I never sang a song before. I mean with someone else, I never sang a song with someone else before. This man…. this man… this is a wonderful man. He made me what I am today…he did. And what of the dear ladies? What would their lives have been without Max Bialystock? Max Bialystock, who made them feel young, and attractive, and wanted again. That’s all I have to say.”

Age: 20s 30s 40s 50s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays and Movies
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

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5. The Cherry Orchard BY Anton Chekov

TROFIMOV: All Russia is our orchard. The land is great and beautiful, there are many marvellous places in it. (Pause) Think, Anya, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, and all your ancestors were serf-owners, they owned living souls; and now, doesn’t something human look at you from every cherry in the orchard, every leaf and every stalk? Don’t you hear voices…? Oh, it’s awful, your orchard is terrible; and when in the evening or at night you walk through the orchard, then the old bark on the trees sheds a dim light and the old cherry-trees seem to be dreaming of all that was a hundred, two hundred years ago, and are oppressed by their heavy visions. Still, at any rate, we’ve left those two hundred years behind us. So far we’ve gained nothing at all—we don’t yet know what the past is to be to us—we only philosophize, we complain that we are dull, or we drink vodka. For it’s so clear that in order to begin to live in the present we must first redeem the past, and that can only be done by suffering, by strenuous, uninterrupted labour. Understand that, Anya.

Age: 50s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: Yes

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6. The Book of Mormon by Matt Stone, Robert Lopez, and Trey Parker

ELDER PRICE: Well, well… If it isn’t the SUPER MORMON. Spreading “the word”?! Making more – BRAIN WASHED ZOMBIES?! How is it YOU converted all those people into Mormons! You get everything you pray for. YOU’RE doing everything I was supposed to do. Doesn’t that seem a little telling to you?! The universe doesn’t work the way we were told! When I was nine years old… My family took a trip to Orlando, Florida. It was the most wonderful, most magical place I had ever seen. I said to myself “THIS is where I want to spend eternity!” My parents told me that if I made God proud, and did whatever the church asked, in the Latter Days I could have whatever I wanted. So I WORKED and I WORKED. And even when I studied Mormon stories and I thought, ‘That doesn’t make ANY SENSE’, I KEPT WORKING because I was told ONE DAY — I would get my reward!! Planet Orlando! But what do I have now? I can’t even get a ticket home…

Age: 20s 30s Teens
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays Musicals
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

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7. THE RETURN BY Reg Cribb

STEVE: No, no, no… ya can’t turn back now. I’m startin’ to see you as the voice of a very misunderstood section of our society. But you know… there’s a million of me getting’ round, mate. And they’ll all tell ya they had a tough life. You know, beaten up by their dad, in trouble with the cops, pisshead mum, rough school. A million fuckin’ excuses why they turned out to be bad eggs.

And I got all of the above… Oh yeah! Truth is, most of ―em are just bored. They leave their shit-ass state school and live on the dole in their diddly bumfuck nowhere suburb. Before ya know it, ya got some girl up the duff and no money. She spends the day with a screamin’ sprog and a fag in her mouth plonked in front of a daytime soap wearin her tracky daks all day, dreamin’ of bein’ swept away by some Fabio and she just gets… fatter. But… her Centrelink payments have gone up and all her fat friends are waitin’ in line behind her!

It’s a career move for ―em. Gettin up the duff. And you… drink with ya mates, watch the footy and the highlight of the week is the local tavern has a skimpy barmaid every Friday. And ya know the rest of the world is havin a better time. Ya just know it. The magazines are tellin’ ya that, the newspapers, the telly.

Everybody’s richer, everybody’s more beautiful, and everybody’s got more… purpose. And ya thinkin’, how do I make sense of this dog-ass life? And then one day ya just get hold of a gun. Ya don’t even know what ya gonna do with it. It’s like the sound of a V8 in the distance. It takes ya… somewhere else. [Pause.] I didn’t see ya writin’ any of this down. I’m spillin’ my guts out in the name of art and you don’t give a shit. What sort of writer are ya?

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

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8. SECRET BRIDESMAIDS BUSINESS BY Elizabeth Coleman

JAMES: Look, sex and love are separate things…Well, they can be, that’s all I’m saying. This thing with Naomi- okay, it should never have happened-but it didn’t have to impact on what I have with Meg. I thought that was the deal. It was a separate arrangement. She told me she just wanted a bit of fun, and now she turns around and does this…! I mean, where the hell did that come from? If I’d known Naomi felt like that I would’ve broken it off with her months ago. Well maybe. Oh shit, maybe not. But I just-I just wish women would say what they mean. You know-plainly, clearly state what they want instead of expecting you to be psychic. Meg bought me this T-shirt at the Warner Brothers store, and it’s got a picture of Superman on it. He’s wearing this perplexed expression and he’s saying You want me to leap tall buildings and be sensitive and supportive?! That’s how it is with women. They want you to slay a dragon for them one second, then cry at a guide dog commercial the next.

And somehow you’re expected to guess when they want you to be controlling and when they want you to be crying-and if you don’t make the right guess at the right time it’s instantly construed as proof that you don’t love them enough. If you really loved me you wouldn’t need to ask. How many times have I heard that? Well I’m sorry, I’ve loved a few people a lot, but no-one’s ever stepped out of the shadows and handed me a crystal ball. Anyway, I know I’m trying to change the subject. The fact is, I’ve been acting like a prick.

Age: 20s 30s 40s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

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9. COSI By Louis Nowra

DOUG: It was the fault of the psychiatrist. I’d been seeing him because of my pyromania-that’s a person who likes lighting fires-but you probably know that being University educated. You know the problem with pyromania? It’s the only crime where you have to be at the scene of it to make it a perfect crime, to give yourself satisfaction. “Course, that means the chances of you getting caught are greater, especially if you’re standing in front of the fire, face full of ecstasy and with a gigantic hard on. So, the cops got me and I’m sent to the shrink. He tells me that I’ve got an unresolved problem with my mother. I think, hello, he’s not going to tell me to do something Oedipal, like fuck her or something…but that wasn’t the problem. My ego had taken a severe battering from her. He said I had better resolve it, stop treating her like I was still a child. It made some sort of cosmic sense. I had to stand up to her. So I thought about it and realized that I had to treat it like a boxing match, get the first punch in, so to speak, to give me the upper hand in our relationship. She had five cats.

One night I rounded them up, put them in a cage, doused them with petrol and put a match to them. Well, boy, oh, boy, what a racket! They were running around the backyard burning and howling-there’s no such thing as grace under pressure for a burning cat, let me tell you. I hid in the shrubs when Mum came outside to see what was happening. Totally freaked out, she did. Five of them, running around the backyard like mobile bonfires. I figured I’d wait a couple of hours till the cats were dead and mum was feeling a bit sorry for herself and I’d knock on the front door and say to her ‘Hi, mum, I’ve come to talk about our unresolved conflicts’ but, oh, no, one of those cats ran into the house. In a couple of minutes the whole bloody house was alight and within half an hour there was no bloody front door to knock on. (a beat) If it wasn’t for that damn cat, I wouldn’t be here.

Age: 20s 30s 40s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

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10. THE DAYS & NIGHTS OF BEEBEE FENSTERMAKER By: William Snyder

BOB: My name is Bob Smith, care of Claude and Esther Berry Smith, Box 231, Hughes, Arkansas. I’m twenty-five years old and I have an eighth grade education. My daddy run me clean out of town. Bought me a one way ticket on a Trailways Bus. Told me he’d buy me a one way ticket to anyplace in the U.S.A. Even rode with me as far as Le-Hi. (Pronounced Lee-High) to make sure I didn’t pull a fast one and slip back after sundown. He said Hughes wasn’t big enough for the both of us. Hughes is tee-ninecy all right. But I didn’t think it was that small. Last I seen of my Daddy was when the bus puled into Le-Hi. he got off the bus and bought me a Dr. Pepper and this comic book. (pulls a comic book from hip pocket) He said, “Well, so long, Bob. I’ll see you in the funny papers.” Before I could even say anything he skipped across the highway and was thumbin a ride back to Hughes. That was the last I seen of my daddy. The very last I seen of him before he took off for Hughes. I bet he was back there before supper. I know he’s back there by now.

(Pleasantly, He looks at the kitchen table) I wonder what Momma and Daddy had for supper? Fried chicken most likely. I sure do love friend chicken.

I sure do miss Hughes. I never been no further than Blackfish Lake cept the time Momma and Daddy took me up to hear Reverend Moore Preach a revival at Proctor. Momma’s a bug on religion, but old Reverend Moore’s one somebody sure igged her. Reverend Moores the shoutin foot stompin kind of religion, and Momma’s is the toe the line, hoe the row kind. They don’t even sing in Momma’s church. It was started up right there in Hughes by Reverend Bitsie Trotter. He does odd jobs with a pick-up truck during the week. Folks said the reason he didn’t allow singing was cause he couldn’t carry a tune.

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

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11. Black Stache from “Peter and the Starcatcher” – Perhaps You Think

Monologue: “Perchance you think a treasure trunk sans treasure has put my piratical BVDs in a twist? How wrong you are. Yes, I’d hoped to be hip-deep in diamonds, but they’re a poor substitute for what I really crave: a bona fide hero to help me feel whole. For without a hero, what am I? Half a villain; a pirate in part; ruthless, but toothless. And then I saw you, and I thought, “Maybe? Can it be? Is he the one I’ve waited for? Would he, for example, give up something precious for the sake of the daughter he loves?” But alas, he gives up sand. Now, let’s see: hero with treasure, very good. Hero with no treasure…. doable. No hero and a trunk full o’ sand? Not s’much. NOW, WHERE’S MY TREASURE?!?”

Age: 20s 30s 40s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays Movies
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: Yes

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Here are a few hilarious male monologues from movies that showcase comedic talent:

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986)

Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick): Ferris’ opening monologue explaining his philosophy on life and how to take a day off from school.

“Annie Hall” (1977) Alvy Singer (Woody Allen):

Alvy’s opening monologue discussing his views on life, love, and relationships.

“Dr. Strangelove” (1964)

President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers): The President’s absurd phone call with the Soviet Premier, trying to explain the accidental deployment of a nuclear bomb.

“The Hangover” (2009)

In conclusion, comedic monologues for men offer a unique opportunity for actors to showcase their skills and leave audiences in fits of laughter. From classic plays to modern masterpieces, we’ve covered 20 of the most hilarious monologues in the comedy genre. Remember, the key to a successful performance is to select a monologue that resonates with you and your audience, and make sure to do your research and practice, practice, practice! Keep these comedic gems in mind, and you’re sure to bring the house down every time

Monologue Database

Comedic Monologues For Women

The post Comedic Monologues For Men appeared first on We Are Actors.

Looking for free dramatic monologues to captivate your audience? Whether you’re an actor preparing for an audition or a drama enthusiast exploring the depths of theatrical expression, our curated list of “22 Dramatic Monologues from Theater and Film” offers a diverse collection of performances that highlight the complexity of human emotions. From classic plays to contemporary films, these free monologues provide a rich tapestry of characters and narratives that will inspire, challenge, and move you.

Dramatic Monologues for Women

1. “Steel Magnolias” by Robert Harling

Character: M’Lynn
Summary: M’Lynn talks about the last moments with her daughter Shelby, expressing her deep sorrow and the strength she found in that painful experience.
Monologue: “No. I couldn’t leave my Shelby. I just sat there and kept pushin’ the way I always have where Shelby was concerned…hoping she’d sit up and argue with me. Finally, we all realized there was no hope. At that point, I panicked. I was afraid that I wouldn’t survive the next few minutes while they turned off the machines. Drum couldn’t take it. He left. Jackson couldn’t take it. He left. But I couldn’t leave. I just sat there, holding Shelby’s hand while the sounds got softer and the beeps got farther apart until all was quiet. There was no noise, no tremble, just peace. I realized as a woman how lucky I was. I was there when this wonderful person drifted into my life and I was there when she drifted out.”
For the full monologue, visit Scribd and WhySanity.

2. “V for Vendetta” by the Wachowskis

Character: Valerie
Summary: Valerie’s monologue is a poignant recount of her life and love before and during the oppressive regime, emphasizing the importance of preserving one’s integrity.
Monologue: “I know there’s no way I can convince you this is not one of their tricks. But I don’t care. I am me. My name is Valerie. I don’t think I’ll live much longer, and I wanted to tell someone about my life. This is the only autobiography that I will ever write, and God, I’m writing it on toilet paper. I was born in Nottingham in 1985. I don’t remember much of those early years, but I do remember the rain. My grandmother owned a farm in Tottlebrook, and she used to tell me that God was in the rain. I passed my eleven-plus and went to girl’s grammar. It was at school that I met my first girlfriend. Her name was Sarah. It was her wrists; they were beautiful. I thought we would love each other forever. I remember our teacher telling us that it was an adolescent phase that people outgrew. Sarah did. I didn’t. In 2002, I fell in love with a girl named Christina. That year I came out to my parents. I couldn’t have done it without Chris holding my hand. My father wouldn’t look at me; he told me to go and never come back. My mother said nothing. I’d only told them the truth. Was that so selfish? Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us, but within that inch we are free. An inch, it is small and it is fragile, and it is the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it or give it away. We must never let them take it from us. I hope that, whoever you are, you escape this place. I hope that the world turns and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you that even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you, I love you. With all my heart, I love you.”
For the full monologue, visit WhySanity and HubPages.

3. “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” by John Patrick Shanley

Character: Roberta
Summary: Roberta reveals her traumatic past and emotional struggles, making it a powerful exploration of a deeply troubled character.
Monologue: “And I dreamed about the ocean. It was real blue. And there was the sun, and it was real yellow. And I was out there, right in the middle of the ocean, all by myself, and I could hear the water, just the way it sounds in a conch shell. And I thought, maybe this is what it’s like to be dead. But I was still myself, you know? And then I looked down, and I couldn’t see the bottom of the ocean. It was like a mile down. And I got really scared because I knew I couldn’t swim a mile. So I tried to get back to shore. But it was so far away. And the water got into my nose and my mouth, and it was so cold. And I thought, this is it. This is the end of everything. And then, suddenly, I felt this hand on my back. And I turned around, and there was this man standing on the water, smiling at me. And I knew he was gonna save me.”
For the full monologue, visit WeAreActors.

4. “ONE” by Terrence Mosley

Character: Mother
Summary: A single mother tells her adult son about his absent father and their heritage.
Monologue Snippet: “Your father was a complicated man, but he loved you in his own way. He left us, yes, but not because he didn’t care. He was running from his own demons, ones that were too strong for him to fight. I see so much of him in you. The good parts. The strength, the passion. But you need to know where you come from, our heritage, our struggles. It’s what makes us who we are. It’s what makes you who you are.”

For the full monologue, you can check out Backstage.

5. “And Turning, Stay” by Kellie Powell

Character: Amy
Summary: Amy, a high schooler, talks about being led on by boys and her broken heart.
Monologue Snippet: “I thought he loved me. I really did. But it was all a game to him, a cruel joke. I let myself believe in his words, his promises. And now here I am, broken, with nothing but memories of his lies. It hurts so much, more than I thought possible. How could someone be so heartless? How could I be so naive? I don’t know if I’ll ever trust again.”

For the full monologue, refer to dramatic literature anthologies or online script libraries.

6. “Bargaining” by Kellie Powell

Character: Hannah
Summary: Hannah tells her boyfriend that she is immortal, revealing a deep personal secret.
Monologue Snippet: “There’s something I need to tell you. Something I’ve never told anyone. I’m immortal. I’ve lived for centuries, seen the rise and fall of empires, watched loved ones come and go. It’s a lonely existence, one that’s hard to explain. I thought I could be normal with you, but I can’t hide it anymore. You deserve to know the truth about who I am, about what I am. I love you, but this is my burden to bear, not yours.”

For the full monologue, refer to dramatic literature anthologies or online script libraries.

7. “The Promise of You” by Daniel Martine

Character: Carolyn
Summary: Carolyn reflects on her life when Bobby returns.
Monologue Snippet:
“Bobby, you know, when you left, I thought it was the end for me. I couldn’t see beyond the heartbreak. But then I found strength in places I never knew existed. I built a life, a home, something stable. And now you’re back, stirring all these old feelings, making me question everything again. But I’m not that same girl you left behind. I’ve grown, I’ve changed. I promised myself I’d never go back to that place of dependency and fear. You have to understand that the woman standing before you now is not the same one you walked away from.”

For the full monologue, please refer to online libraries

8. “Richard Fisher’s Funeral” by Kellie Powell

Character: Drew
Summary: Drew explains why she won’t forgive her father at his funeral.
Monologue Snippet:
“Why should I forgive him? He was never there. Not when I needed him. Not when Mom needed him. His promises were as empty as his seat at my graduation, as hollow as his words when he said he loved us. And now, you want me to stand here and pretend that he was some kind of hero? No, I won’t do it. He doesn’t deserve it. He doesn’t deserve my forgiveness, and he doesn’t deserve my tears. He was nothing but a stranger to me, a ghost haunting the corners of my life.”

For the full monologue, visit Not My Shoes and Stage Plays.

9. “Snow White Gets Her Say” by Chris Wind

Character: Catherine
Summary: Catherine plots her revenge on all the men who have wronged her.
Monologue Snippet:
“You think you know my story, don’t you? The pretty little princess waiting to be saved. But let me tell you something, that tale is a lie. They twisted my life into some kind of fairy tale, but there was nothing magical about it. I was used, betrayed, and left to fend for myself. But I’m not the naive girl they thought I was. I’ve learned, I’ve grown stronger. And now, it’s my turn to rewrite the story. To take control. To make them pay for every lie, every deceit. They won’t see me coming, but they’ll remember my name. Catherine, the one who took her revenge.”

For the full monologue, visit Stage Plays and Scribd.

10. “The Seagull” By Anton Chekov

Character: Nina
Summary: Nina returns to Sorin’s estate, having been abandoned by Trigorin once her allure and innocence faded. Upon encountering her former lover, Treplev, she succumbs to emotional breakdown.

Monologue: Why do you say that you have kissed the ground I walked on? You should kill me rather. I am so tired. If I could only rest—rest. I am a sea-gull—no—no, I am an actress. He is there too. Ah, well—no matter. He does not believe in the theatre; he used to laugh at my dreams, so that little by little I became down-hearted and ceased to believe in it too. Then came all the cares of love, the continual anxiety about my little one, so that I soon grew trivial and spiritless, and played my parts without meaning. I never knew what to do with my hands, and I could not walk properly or control my voice. You cannot imagine the state of mind of one who knows as he goes through a play how terribly badly he is acting. I am a sea-gull—no—no, that is not what I meant to say. Do you remember how you shot a seagull once? A man chanced to pass that way and destroyed it out of idleness. That is an idea for a short story, but it is not what I meant to say.

(She passes her hand across her forehead)

What was I saying? Oh, yes, the stage. I have changed now. Now I am a real actress. I act with joy, with exaltation, I am intoxicated by it, and feel that I am superb. I have been walking and walking, and thinking and thinking, ever since I have been here, and I feel the strength of my spirit growing in me every day. I know now, I understand at last, Constantine, that for us, whether we write or act, it is not the honour and glory of which I have dreamt that is important, it is the strength to endure. One must know how to bear one’s cross, and one must have faith. I believe, and so do not suffer so much, and when I think of my calling I do not fear life.

Download This Monologue Here

Dramatic Monologues for men

11. Biff Monologue from “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller

Monologue: “Pop! I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you! … I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you. You were never anything but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash can like all the rest of them! I’m one dollar an hour, Willy! I tried seven states and couldn’t raise it. A buck an hour! Do you gather my meaning? I’m not bringing home any prizes anymore, and you’re going to stop waiting for me to bring them home! … I’m nothing! I’m nothing, Pop. Can’t you understand that? There’s no spite in it anymore. I’m just what I am, that’s all.”

For the full monologue, you can refer to the following page:

• We Are Actors – Biff Monologue Death of a Salesman

12. “Ben Is Back” by Peter Hedges

Character: Ben
Summary: Ben admits his role in a friend’s death due to an overdose, showcasing his guilt and the strain in his relationship with his mother.
Monologue Snippet: “Mom, I can’t live with this guilt anymore. Every time I close my eyes, I see his face. I was the one who gave him the drugs. I thought it was just for fun, but it turned out to be lethal. I’m so sorry, Mom. I need you to understand that I’m not the same person anymore. I can’t keep pretending that everything is okay when it’s not. Please, forgive me.”

For the full monologue, refer to Peter Hedges Delivers Ben is Back .

13. “Lobby Hero” by Kenneth Lonergan

Character: William
Summary: William’s monologue explores his moral dilemma of protecting his brother versus telling the truth to the police.
Monologue Snippet: “Jeff, you don’t understand. If I tell the truth, my brother goes to jail. But if I lie, I become a part of this corrupt system. How do I choose between my family and my integrity? It’s tearing me apart inside. Every night I lie awake, wondering if I’m doing the right thing. How can you protect someone you love without losing yourself in the process?”

For the full monologue, refer to Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan .

14. “Brooklyn Boy” by Donald Margulies

Character: Eric
Summary: Eric reflects on his father’s dedication to his work, which he never understood, revealing a complicated father-son relationship.
Monologue Snippet: “My father sold shoes. In a Buster Brown store on Sheepshead Bay Road. He wasn’t a partner, he was an employee. For thirty-nine years. He gave his life to that store. It wasn’t even his to profit from, yet he still gave everything to that goddamn store. I could never understand what was so attractive about that place, why he chose to spend so much of his days there and not at home. I remember watching him closely in the morning, trying to uncover the mystery of manhood, the rituals of work.”

For the full monologue, refer to Brooklyn Boy by Donald Margulies .

15. “Of The Fields, Lately” by David French

Character: Ben
Summary: Ben recalls the shame and embarrassment he felt towards his father during a baseball game in his youth.
Monologue Snippet: “He rushed out the door and down to the school-yard, the first game he had ever come to, and my mother put his supper in the oven, for later … I hadn’t reminded my father of the game. I was afraid he’d show up and embarrass me. Twelve years old and ashamed of my old man. Ashamed of his dialect, his dirty overalls, his bruised fingers with the fingernails lined with dirt, his teeth yellow as old ivory. Most of all, his lunch pail, that symbol of the working man.”

For the full monologue, additional context can be found in dramatic literature anthologies or libraries.

16. “Basilica” by Mando Alvarado

Character: Joe
Summary: Joe expresses his deep sense of failure and seeks understanding from his loved one.
Monologue Snippet: “Ah babe, I’m not doing so good. I just feel so … I wish I could tell you that I got the strength. But, you know I would be bullshitting. You always had a way of seeing through me. I know. Like that time, I came home. You put me on that stupid Weight Watcher’s Diet. Small portions, no fast food. I was still the same waist size since high school. So I came home. You knew I had a Whataburger. But I said, ‘No babe, I had a salad and one of those meals.’”

For the full monologue, refer to dramatic literature anthologies or online script libraries.

17. “The Rookie Cop” by Adam J. Wahlberg

Character: Veteran Cop
Summary: A seasoned cop educates his rookie partner, leading to a significant revelation.
Monologue Snippet: “I’m John. A veteran cop who doesn’t believe in being soft on rookies. I’ve seen it all. The crimes, the victims, the broken system. You, kid, you think you know what you’re getting into, but you don’t. There’s a darkness in this job that you won’t find in the academy textbooks. Every call we take, every arrest we make, it changes you. You start questioning your morals, your sense of justice. But here’s the thing, kid, if you can hold onto that small part of yourself that believes in doing right, you’ll survive. Barely, but you’ll survive.”

For the full monologue, you can refer to Reddit.

18. “Spoon River Anthology” by Edgar Lee Masters

Character: Tom Merritt
Summary: Tom recounts the events leading to his murder from beyond the grave.
Monologue Snippet: “I was the happiest soul that ever lived, until one day, my wife’s lover took my life. I stood there, unaware, and then I felt the cold steel. It was quick, but in that moment, I thought of everything I loved and lost. From the grave, I now see how my death was just another story in the long line of tales that make up Spoon River. My end, a sad song amidst the chorus of the town’s stories, forever echoing in the silence of the cemetery.”

For the full monologue, refer to Project Gutenberg and Full Text Archive.

19. “Good Will Hunting” by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

Character: Sean
Monologue: “Thought about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. Stayed up half the night thinking about it. Then something occurred to me and I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep and haven’t thought about you since. You know what occurred to me? You’re just a kid. You don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about. You’ve never been out of Boston.”

Sean :So if I asked you about art, you’d probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life’s work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I’ll bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You’ve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that. If I ask you about women, you’d probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can’t tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You’re a tough kid. And I’d ask you about war, you’d probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, “once more unto the breach dear friends.” But you’ve never been near one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. I’d ask you about love, you’d probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn’t know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes, that the terms “visiting hours” don’t apply to you. You don’t know about real loss, ’cause it only occurs when you’ve loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you’ve ever dared to love anybody that much. And look at you… I don’t see an intelligent, confident man… I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you’re a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my fucking life apart. You’re an orphan right?

[Will nods] 

Sean : You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally… I don’t give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can’t learn anything from you, I can’t read in some fuckin’ book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I’m fascinated. I’m in. But you don’t want to do that do you sport? You’re terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.

Download This Monologue Here

20. “Scent Of A Woman”

Character:  Lt. Col. Frank Slade
Summary: Slade has Charlie accompany him to New York City, intending to savor one last weekend before ending his own life. Throughout their time together, Charlie forms a bond with Slade and ultimately prevents him from committing suicide. Slade then decides to return to the prep school with Charlie to attend the disciplinary committee meeting. George has made a deal to name the three students involved in the prank but plans to claim he didn’t see them clearly due to not wearing his contact lenses, implying only Charlie truly saw the culprits. Charlie refuses to reveal their identities, prompting the headmaster to prepare to recommend Charlie’s expulsion. At this moment, an outraged Slade delivers the following speech:

Monologue Snippet:
“I have seen boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. But there is nothing like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that. You think you’re merely sending this splendid foot soldier back home to Oregon with his tail between his legs, but I say you are executing his soul! And why? Because he’s not a Baird man. Baird men. You hurt this boy, you’re going to be Baird bums, the lot of you. And Harry, Jimmy, Trent, wherever you are out there, FUCK YOU TOO!”

For the full monologue, you can refer to the sources below:

• American Rhetoric – Movie Speech from Scent of a Woman

21. “The Seagull” By Anton Chekov

Character: Treplev
Summary: Treplev’s relationship with his mother, a renowned actress, is intricate; they meet sporadically each year since he reached adulthood. Aspiring to be a playwright, Treplev strongly criticizes contemporary theatrical norms. The monologue in question is directed at his uncle, Sorin, beginning with him methodically plucking petals off a flower.

Monologue: She loves me, she loves me not; she loves me, she loves me not; she loves me, she loves me not. You see? My mother doesn’t love me. Of course not! She wants to live, to love, to wear bright dresses, and here I am, twenty-five years old, a constant reminder that she is no longer young. When I’m not there, she’s only thirty-two, but when I am, she’s forty-three – and for that, she hates me. Besides, she knows I don’t accept the theatre. She loves the theatre, she thinks she is serving humanity and the sacred cause of art, while in my opinion, the theatre of today is hidebound and conventional. When the curtain goes up, and, in a room with three walls and artificial light, those great geniuses, those priests of holy art, show me how people eat, drink, love, walk about, and wear their jackets; when from those banal scenes and phrases they try to fish out a moral – some little moral that is easily grasped and suitable for domestic use; when, in a thousand variations, I am served the same thing over and over and over again – then I flee, as Maupassant fled from the Eiffel Tower, which made his brain reel with vulgarity.

Download This Monologue Here

22. “Jesus Hopped The A Train” By Stephen Adly Guirgis

Character: Angel
Summary: Angel, a young Puerto Rican man, is incarcerated at Riker’s Island prison awaiting trial for the murder of a cult religious leader. In this scene, he converses with his court-appointed attorney.

Monologue:

ANGEL: . . . We usta, me and Joey, we usta sneak out our house on Sun-
day nights, jump the turnstiles. And we would hop down onto the
subway tracks, walk through the tunnels, lookin’ for shit, makin’ ad-
ventures, playin’ like we was G.I. Joes . . . Pick up a empty can a
Hawaiian Punch or some ol’ beer bottle for fake walkie-talkies . . .
and we’d have our snow-boots on so we could be astronauts. And we
would pretend we were the last two survivors on earth and that we
came from the future . . . stupid . . . the future . . . like in that Planet
of the Apes movie with the two guys? Only we had no weapons, juss
chocolate milk . . . And we’d get so lost in our games and our dis-
coveries and our made-up stories . . . so many stories: lookin’ for ghosts,
lookin’ for apes, lookin’ for fortunes, runnin’ from rats, talkin’ bout
girls, talkin’ bout Thelma from “Good Times,” talkin’ bout daydreams,
talkin’ ’bout Bruce Lee versus Evil Knievel, talkin’ in words that was-
n’t even words, . . . and . . . and it would always surprise us when we
saw the Lights . . . even though we could feel the train coming, but
it was the Lights . . . The closer those Lights came, rumble of the tracks,
sound a the conductor’s horn blarin’ at us. We’d get so excited we’d
freeze — two seconds of freezin’ cold . . . hypnotized . . . holdin’ hands,
waitin’, waitin’, then: Bang . . . We’d jump off the rails, hug the wall,
climb back up the platform, start runnin’, runnin’, tearin’ ass clear
across town back to Riverside or Cherry Park . . . One time . . . one
particular time, when we was holdin’ hands right before we jumped
off the rails, somethin’ happened, and we couldn’t let go, couldn’t un-
tangle ourself from each other, and we were inside that Light, and we
both saw skeletons and radiation, and we was paralyzed in a way that
I juss can’t explain, till somethin’ blew us apart, juss blew us, and we
landed safe . . . We didn’t move for a long time . . . We was cryin’
and Joey ripped his brother’s coat . . . We wasn’t speakin’ till we got
to our block and Joey said that it was The Light that ripped us apart
and saved our lives . . . Joey said, “Jesus hopped the A train to see us
safe to bed” . . .

Download This Monologue Here

Dramatic Monologue FAQs

1. What are dramatic monologues?

Monologues are solo performances given by a character in a play or a film, where they express their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. A dramatic monologue specifically involves a character revealing intense feelings or deep revelations, usually in a serious or emotional manner.

2. How can I use free dramatic monologues for auditions?

Using free dramatic monologues for auditions can showcase your acting skills and ability to convey emotions effectively. Choose a monologue that resonates with you and fits the character you are auditioning for. Practice delivering the monologue with authenticity and emotion to make a strong impression on the casting team.

3. Where can I find free monologues for women and dramatic monologues for men?

You can find a variety of free monologues online, including monologues for women and dramatic monologues for men. Websites dedicated to theater resources, script databases, and acting forums often offer a selection of monologues categorized by gender and genre.

4. What are some tips for performing a dramatic monologue effectively?

To perform a dramatic monologue effectively, immerse yourself in the character’s emotions and motivations. Understand the context of the monologue and the character’s journey. Practice vocal variations, body language, and emotional depth to engage the audience and make the monologue impactful.

5. Are there specific phrases or lines commonly used in dramatic monologues?

Yes, there are certain phrases or lines that are often found in dramatic monologues, such as: “I’m still young,” “You’re older,” “Don’t make,” “Know what it’s like,” “I’m ready to talk,” and “I’m not trying.” These lines convey intense emotions and help build the dramatic tension in the performance.

6. How can I effectively connect with the audience during a dramatic monologue?

To connect with the audience during a dramatic monologue, focus on sincere and authentic delivery. Maintain eye contact, vary your tone to reflect emotions, and use pauses to emphasize key moments. Allow yourself to be vulnerable and let the audience empathize with the character’s experience.

Dive into these dramatic monologues for men and women and discover the essence of storytelling that transcends the stage and screen. Each piece not only showcases the actor’s talent but also brings to life the intricate layers of the characters they portray. Explore, practice, and perfect these monologues to enhance your performance skills and leave a lasting impression on your audience.

The post 22 Free Dramatic Monologues from From Theater and Film appeared first on We Are Actors.

Dubbed as one of history’s most illustrious playwrights, Oscar Wilde’s vivacious wit and distinct stylistic approach to drama has left an indelible mark on the world of theatre. Born on October 16, 1854, in Dublin, Ireland, Wilde was a man of many talents – a poet, an essayist, a critic, but it’s his fame as a playwright that truly defines his enduring legacy. Authoring timeless classics such as ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ and ‘An Ideal Husband’, Wilde’s name is synonymous with the golden age of theatre

In this article, we delve deeper into the heart of Wilde’s theatrical genius – his monologues. These captivating speeches delivered by characters within his plays reveal Wilde’s profound understanding of human nature, his penchant for social commentary, and his unmatched prowess in creating compelling dramatic moments. We have selected ten powerful monologues from different plays penned by Wilde, each offering a unique insight into the writer’s craft, the character’s psyche, and the overarching themes of the plays. Our journey will take us through famous works like ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ to lesser-known gems like ‘The Duchess of Padua’.

Join us as we immerse ourselves in the timeless wit and wisdom of Oscar Wilde’s monologues, exploring their profound depth, enduring charm, and their immense relevance in contemporary theatre.

“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.”

— Oscar Wilde

An Ideal Husband

– In this play, the character Lord Goring delivers a moving monologue about truth, honor, and love. This powerful speech highlights Wilde’s ability to weave profound thoughts into his dialogues. It captures the complexity of Lord Goring’s character while underlining the play’s themes of morality and forgiveness

Lord Goring:

Lady Chiltern, allow me. You wrote me a letter last night in which you said you trusted me and wanted my help. Now is the moment when you really want my help, now is the time when you have got to trust me, to trust in my counsel and judgment. You love Robert. Do you want to kill his love for you? What sort of existence will he have if you rob him of the fruits of his ambition, if you take him from the splendour of a great political career, if you close the doors of public life against him, if you condemn him to sterile failure, he who was made for triumph and success? Women are not meant to judge us, but to forgive us when we need forgiveness. Pardon, not punishment, is their mission. Why should you scourge him with rods for a sin done in his youth, before he knew you, before he knew himself? A man’s life is of more value than a woman’s. It has larger issues, wider scope, greater ambitions. A woman’s life revolves in curves of emotions. It is upon lines of intellect that a man’s life progresses. Don’t make any terrible mistake, Lady Chiltern. A woman who can keep a man’s love, and love him in return, has done all the world wants of women, or should want of them.

Age: 30s 40s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Drama
One minute monologue: No

Download This Monologue Here

Lady Windermere’s Fan

– The monologue delivered by Lady Windermere is a perfect example of Wilde’s wit and wisdom. The character’s reflections on good and bad people are both humorous and thought-provoking, offering a deep exploration of the play’s themes of appearances and societal judgments.

LADY WINDERMERE. How horrible! I understand now what Lord Darlington meant by the imaginary instance of the couple not two years married. Oh! it can’t be true–she spoke of enormous sums of money paid to this woman. I know where Arthur keeps his bank book- -in one of the drawers of that desk. I might find out by that. I WILL find out. [Opens drawer.] No, it is some hideous mistake. [Rises and goes C.] Some silly scandal! He loves ME! He loves ME! But why should I not look? I am his wife, I have a right to look! [Returns to bureau, takes out book and examines it page by page, smiles and gives a sigh of relief.] I knew it! there is not a word of truth in this stupid story. [Puts book back in dranver. As the does so, starts and takes out another book.] A second book- -private–locked! [Tries to open it, but fails. Sees paper knife on bureau, and with it cuts cover from book. Begins to start at the first page.] ‘Mrs. Erlynne–600 pounds–Mrs. Erlynne–700 pounds–Mrs. Erlynne–400 pounds.’ Oh! it is true! It is true! How horrible! [Throws book on floor.] [Enter LORD WINDERMERE C.]

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Female
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

Download This Monologue Here

A Woman Of No Importance

The character Mrs. Arbuthnot’s monologue is a raw, emotional plea to her son. It portrays Wilde’s ability to create dramatic, heart-wrenching scenes while tackling themes of motherhood, sacrifice, and societal expectations

MRS. ARBUTHNOT: I will never stand before God’s altar and ask God’s blessing on so hideous a mockery as a marriage between me and George Harford. I will not say the words the Church bids us to say. I will not say them. How could I swear to love the man I loathe, to honour him who wrought you dishonor, to obey him who, in his mastery, made me to sin? No; marriage is a sacrament for those who love each other. It is not for such as him, or such as me. Gerald, to save you from the world’s sneers and taunts I have lied to the world. For twenty years I have lied to the world. I could not tell the truth. No, Gerald, no ceremony, Church-hallowed or State-made, shall ever bind me to George Harford. [Pause.] Men don’t understand what mothers are. I am no different from other women except in the wrong done me and the wrong I did, and my very heavy punishments and great disgrace. And yet, to bear you I had to look on death. To nurture you I had to wrestle with it. Death fought with me for you. All women have to fight with death to keep their children. Death, being childless, wants our children from us. Gerald, when you were naked I clothed you, when you were hungry I gave you food. Night and day all that long winter I tended you. No office is too mean, no care too lowly for the thing we women love–and oh! how I loved you! And you needed love, for you were weakly, and only love could have kept you alive. Only love can keep any one alive. And boys are careless often, and without thinking give pain, and we always fancy that when they come to man’s estate and know us better they will repay us. But it is not so. The world draws them from our side, and they make friends with whom they are happier than they are with us, and have amusements from which we are barred, and interests that are not ours; and they are unjust to us often, for when they find life bitter they blame us for it, and when they find it sweet we do not taste its sweetness with them. . . . You made many friends and went into their houses and were glad with them, and I, knowing my secret, did not dare to follow, but stayed at home and closed the door, shut out the sun and sat in darkness. My past was ever with me. . . . And you thought I didn’t care for the pleasant things of life. I tell you I longed for them, but did not dare to touch them, feeling I had no right. You thought I was happier working amongst the poor. That was my mission, you imagined. It was not, but where else was I to go? The sick do not ask if the hand that smooths their pillow is pure, nor the dying care if the lips that touch their brow have known the kiss of sin. It was you I thought of all the time; I gave to them the love you did not need; lavished on them a love that was not theirs. . . . And you thought I spent too much of my time in going to Church, and in Church duties. But where else could I turn? God’s house is the only house where sinners are made welcome, and you were always in my heart, Gerald, too much in my heart. For though day after day, at morn or evensong, I have knelt in God’s house, I never repented of my sin. How could I repent of my sin when you, my love, were its fruit. Even now that you are bitter to me I cannot repent. I do not. You are more to me than innocence. I would rather be your mother–oh! much rather!–than have been always pure. . . . Oh, don’t you see? don’t you understand! It is my dishonour that has made you so dear to me. It is my disgrace that has bound you so closely to me. It is the price I paid for you–the price of soul and body–that makes me love you as I do. Oh, don’t ask me to do this horrible thing. Child of my shame, be still!

Age: 40s 50s 60s
Gender: Female
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

Download This Monologue Here

Vera; or, The Nihilists 

CZAR: Then I banish you for your bad jokes. Bon voyage Messieurs. If you value your lives you will catch the first train for Paris. [Exeunt Ministers.] Russia is well rid of such men as these. They are the jackals that follow in the lion’s track. They have no courage themselves except to pillage and rob. But for these men and for Prince Paul my father would have been a good king, would not have died so horribly as he did die. How strange it is, the most real parts of one’s life always seem to be a dream! The council, the fearful law which was to kill the people, the arrest, the cry in the court-yard, the pistol-shot, my father’s bloody hands, and then the crown! One can live for years sometimes without living at all, and then all life comes crowding into one single hour. I had no time to think. Before my father’s hideous shriek of death had died in my ears I found this crown on my head, the purple robe around me, and heard myself called a king. I would have given it up all then; it seemed nothing to me then; but now, can I give it up now? Well, Colonel, well?

Age: 40s 50s 60s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

Download This Monologue Here

VERA: Asleep! God, thou art good! Who shall deliver him from my hands now? This is he! The democrat who would make himself a king, the republican who hath worn a crown, the traitor who hath lied to us. Michael was right. He loved not the people. He loved me not. [Bends over him.] Oh, why should such deadly poison lie in such sweet lips? Was there not gold enough in his hair before, but he should tarnish it with this crown? But my day has come now; the day of the people, of liberty, has come! Your day, my brother, has come! Though I have strangled whatever nature is in me, I did not think it had been so easy to kill. One blow and it is over, and I can wash my hands in water afterwards, I can wash my hands afterwards. Come, I shall save Russia. I have sworn it. [Raises the dagger to strike.]

Age: 20s 30s 40s
Gender: Female
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

Download This Monologue Here

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

DORIAN: This play was good enough for us, Harry. It was Romeo and Juliet. I must admit that I was rather annoyed at the idea of seeing Shakespeare done in such a wretched hole of a place. Still, I felt interested, in a sort of way. At any rate, I determined to wait for the first act. There was a dreadful orchestra, presided over by a young Hebrew who sat at a cracked piano, that nearly drove me away, but at last the drop-scene was drawn up, and the play began. Romeo was a stout elderly gentleman, with corked eyebrows, a husky tragedy voice, and a figure like a beer-barrel. Mercutio was almost as bad. He was played by the low-comedian, who had introduced gags of his own and was on most friendly terms with the pit. They were both as grotesque as the scenery, and that looked as if it had come out of a country booth. But Juliet! Harry, imagine a girl, hardly seventeen years of age, with a little flower-like face, a small Greek head with plaited coils of dark-brown hair, eyes that were violet wells of passion, lips that were like the petals of a rose. She was the loveliest thing I had ever seen in my life. You said to me once that pathos left you unmoved, but that beauty, mere beauty, could fill your eyes with tears. I tell you, Harry, I could hardly see this girl for the mist of tears that came across me. And her voice–I never heard such a voice. It was very low at first, with deep, mellow notes, that seemed to fall singly upon one’s ear. Then it became a little louder, and sounded like a flute or a distant hautbois. In the garden scene it had all the tremulous ecstasy that one hears just before dawn when nightingales are singing. There were moments, later on, when it had the wild passion of violets. You know how a voice can stir one. Your voice and the voice of Sibyl Vane are two things that I shall never forget. When I close my eyes, I hear them, and each of them says something different. I don’t know which to follow. Why should I not love her? Harry, I do love her. She is everything to me in life. Night after night I go to see her play. One evening she is Rosalind, and the next evening she is Imogen. I have seen her die in the gloom of an Italian tomb, sucking the poison from her lover’s lips. I have watched her wandering through the forest of Arden, disguised as a pretty boy in hose and doublet and dainty cap. She has been mad, and has come into the presence of a guilty king, and given him rue to wear, and bitter herbs to taste of. She has been innocent, and the black hands of jealousy have crushed her reed-like throat. I have seen her in every age and in every costume. Ordinary women never appeal to one’s imagination. They are limited to their century. No glamour ever transfigures them. One knows their minds as easily as one knows their bonnets. One can always find them. There is no mystery in any of them. They ride in the Park in the morning, and chatter at tea-parties in the afternoon. They have their stereotyped smile, and their fashionable manner. They are quite obvious. But an actress! How different an actress is! Harry! why didn’t you tell me that the only thing worth loving is an actress?”

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Drama
One minute monologue: No

Download This Monologue Here

The Canterville Ghost

Scene 8: The Haunting Resumes – Sir Simon Monoologue

Receipt and yellow pad of rent terms are pinned on wall of hall. Twins pin up fake ghost on wall and run around the edge of set to hide. Sir Simon enters and grabs rent terms off wall.

Sir Simon: [Reading mockingly from paper] Dear Sir, As you know, we have recently purchased this

place from Lord Canterville. If you wish to remain here, we will be forced to collect rent. Please remit

payment before the end of this week. Thank you!

Sir Simon: What?! Who are these people? Charge me rent to live in my own home? It is I who ought to

be charging them rent! [rips paper in half and throws it to the floor]

Starts walking to library and then sees ghost scarecrow

Sir Simon: Ahh! A ghost! It’s a ghastly ghost!

Runs to his room

Sir Simon: Oh, what a terrible, horrible ghost! I swear, it was going to kill me!

Sir Simon: Wait, I have an idea. Maybe this ghost, this terrifying new phantom, can help me get rid of

the Otises. I’ll go talk to him.

Sir Simon: [Talking to himself] Talk to him? Are you mad? That thing would soon rip me up as listen to

me gab.

Sir Simon: How much damage could it really do? I mean, I’m already dead. I shall go forth and talk

business!

Enters stage gingerly.

Sir Simon: Uh, Lord Ghost? Morning, Sir. [pokes with finger] I’m Sir Simon de Canterville, and I’ve

haunted this place for over 300 years, but I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of making your

acquaintance. How do you do? [shakes hand, which comes off]

Sir Simon: Ahh! [Staggers backwards]

Sir Simon: Uhh, Sir, I’m sure you know what a danger this Otis family is.

Sir Simon: Hey, wake up, you there! Come on, I don’t have all night! [Grabs arm and the whole ghost

comes down]

Sir Simon: Sorry Sir, I guess I can be a little rough sometimes. Are all right?

Sir Simon: Gah! What’s this!? [Holds up sign and reads] “Ye Otis Ghoste. Ye Onlie True and Origionale

Spook. Beware of Ye Imitationes. All others are Counterfeite.”

Sir Simon: I have been outwitted? Never! That Otis family will pay for this.

Twins enter and attack with pea-shooters.

Lewis: Boo!

Clark: Boo!

Lewis and Clark: Ghost Noises

Sir Simon: You rascals! [Holds up ghost] Was this your idea!? I’ll get you yet!

Twins chase Sir Simon off stage

Age: 30s 40s 50s
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

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THE HAPPY PRINCE

From the Oscar Wilde fairy tale about a statue of a former prince

Boy, Age 8 to 14

PRINCE: Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow, far away across the city I see a young man in a garret. He is leaning over a desk covered with papers, and in a tumbler by his side there is a bunch of withered violets. He has large and dreamy eyes. He is trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre, but he is too cold to write any more. There is no fire in the grate, and hunger has made him faint. Alas! I no longer have rubies to give him. My eyes are all that I have now. They are made of rare sapphires, which were brought out of India a thousand years ago. Pluck out one of them and take it to him. He will sell it to the jeweler, and buy firewood, and finish his play. Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow, do not weep so. Do as I command you and pluck out my eye.

Age: Teens
Gender: Male
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Comedy
One minute monologue: No

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THE DUCHESS OF PADUA

DUCHESS: Better for me I had not seen your face.
O think it was for you I killed this man.

[GUIDO recoils: she seizes his hands as she kneels.]

Nay, Guido, listen for a while:
Until you came to Padua I lived
Wretched indeed, but with no murderous thought,
Very submissive to a cruel Lord,
Very obedient to unjust commands,
As pure I think as any gentle girl
Who now would turn in horror from my hands–
You came: ah! Guido, the first kindly words
I ever heard since I had come from France
Were from your lips: well, well, that is no matter.
You came, and in the passion of your eyes
I read love’s meaning, everything you said
Touched my dumb soul to music, and you seemed
Fair as that young Saint Michael on the wall
In Santa Croce, where we go and pray.
I wonder will I ever pray again?
Well, you were fair, and in your boyish face
The morning light seemed to lighten, so I loved you.
And yet I did not tell you of my love.
‘Twas you who sought me out, knelt at my feet
As I kneel now at yours, and with sweet vows,
Whose music seems to linger in my ears,
Swore that you loved me, and I trusted you.
I think there are many women in the world
Who had they been unti this vile Duke mated,
Chained to his side, as the poor galley slave
Is to a leper chained,–ay! many women
Who would have tempted you to kill the man.
I did not. Yet I know that had I done so,
I had not been thus humbled in the dust.

[Stands up.]

But you have loved me very faithfully.

[After a pause approaches him timidly.]

I do not think you understand me, Guido:
It was for your sake that I wrought this deed
Whose horror now chills my young blood to ice,
For your sake only.

[Stretching out her arm.]

Will you not speak to me?
Love me a little: in my girlish life
I have been starved for love, and kindliness
Has passed me by.

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Female
From: Monologues From Plays
Type: Drama
One minute monologue: No

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The Importance Of Being Ernest

In his state of annoyance at Algernon’s seeming fondness for Cecily, Jack seeks Lady Bracknell’s intervention with her nephew.

Jack:

It pains me very much to have to speak frankly to you, Lady Bracknell, about your nephew, but the fact is that I do not approve at all of his moral character. I suspect him of being untruthful. I fear there can be no possible doubt about the matter. This afternoon during my temporary absence in London on an important question of romance, he obtained admission to my house by means of the false pretence of being my brother. Under an assumed name he drank, I’ve just been informed by my butler, an entire pint bottle of my Perrier-Jouet, Brut, ’89; wine I was specially reserving for myself. Continuing his disgraceful deception, he succeeded in the course of the afternoon in alienating the affections of my only ward. He subsequently stayed to tea, and devoured every single muffin. And what makes his conduct all the more heartless is, that he was perfectly well aware from the first that I have no brother, that I never had a brother, and that I don’t intend to have a brother, not even of any kind. I distinctly told him so myself yesterday afternoon.

Cecily encounters Algernon, who she is under the impression is Ernest. During their meeting, Algernon professes his affection towards her, to which Cecily responds by divulging that her love for him has been blossoming during his time away.

Cecily:

You silly boy! Why, we have been engaged for the last three months. It will be exactly three months on Thursday. Ever since dear Uncle Jack first confessed to us that he had a younger brother who was very wicked and bad, you of course have formed the chief topic of conversation between myself and Miss Prism. And of course a man who is much talked about is always very attractive. One feels there must be something in him, after all. I daresay it was foolish of me, but I fell in love with you, Ernest. The engagement was actually settled on the 14th of February last. Worn out by your entire ignorance of my existence, I determined to end the matter one way or the other, and after a long struggle with myself I accepted you under this dear old tree here.

Oscar Wilde Monologues FAQ’s

What are some key themes present in Oscar Wilde monologues?

Oscar Wilde often dealt with themes of love, self-realization, redemption, and societal norms in his works. His monologues often reflect these themes, presenting characters who grapple with their emotions, struggle with their identities, or wrestle with moral dilemmas. The themes are often presented with irony and wit, characteristic of Wilde’s writing style

Which literary devices does Oscar Wilde frequently use in his monologues?

Wilde frequently used literary devices such as metaphors, irony, and wit in his works. In his monologues, he often used these devices to enhance the dramatic effect, reveal character personalities, and highlight his themes

Are there any controversial elements in Oscar Wilde’s monologues?

Oscar Wilde was known for his controversial ideas, often challenging societal norms of his time. His monologues sometimes mirrored this controversy, reflecting Wilde’s own views on subjects like love, morality, and societal constraints

What can we learn from Oscar Wilde monologues?

Wilde’s monologues often explore the complexities of human nature and society. They provide insights into his views on love, self-realization, and societal norms. They also showcase his distinct style, characterized by wit, irony, and clever use of language

Where can I find examples of Oscar Wilde monologues?

Monologues from Oscar Wilde can be found in his plays, such as “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “An Ideal Husband,” and “Lady Windermere’s Fan.” These works are widely available in libraries and online.

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Monologues From Movies

If you are a fan of classic films then you will love this list of old school monologues from movies we have put together for you. Many of you might not have even heard of these films but there are some gems of monologues in them that many of you can work on. These movies star the likes of Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn and more. Some of these are lengthy monologues that you can really sink your teeth into.

“Acting is experience with something sweet behind it.” – Humphrey Bogart

Meet John Doe (1941)

Screenwriter: Robert Riskin
The fictional John Doe (Gary Cooper) (aka Long John Willoughby) delivered a radio address – an idealistic appeal to the common man – all the John Does (“the little punks”) in the world – to get up on their feet and pull together as a team:

Monologue: Ladies and Gentlemen, I am the man you all know as John Doe. I took that name because it seems to describe, because it seems to describe the average man – and that’s me. (He cleared his throat) And that’s me. Well, it was me before I said I was gonna jump off the City Hall roof at midnight on Christmas Eve. Now I guess I’m not average anymore. Now I’m getting all sorts of attention, from big shots too, the mayor and the governor, for instance. They don’t like those articles I’ve been writing…

Well, people like the governor, people like the governor and that fellow there can stop worrying. I’m not going to talk about them. I’m gonna talk about us – the average guys, the John Does. If anybody should ask you what the average John Doe is like, you couldn’t tell him because he’s a million and one things. He’s Mr. Big and Mr. Small, he’s simple and he’s wise, he’s inherently honest but he’s got a streak of larceny in his heart. He seldom walks up to a public telephone without shovin’ his finger into the slot to see if somebody left a nickel there. (Laughter) He’s the man the ads are written for. He’s the fella everybody sells things to. He’s Joe Doakes, the world’s greatest stooge and the world’s greatest strength.

Yes sir, yes sir, we’re a great family, the John Does. We are the meek who are, who are supposed to inherit the earth. You’ll find us everywhere. We raise the crops, we dig the mines, work the factories, keep the books, fly the planes and drive the buses, and when a cop yells, ‘Stand back there you,’ he means us – the John Does… We’ve existed since time began. We built the pyramids. We saw Christ crucified, pulled the oars for Roman emperors, sailed the boats for Columbus, retreated from Moscow with Napoleon, and froze with Washington at Valley Forge. Yes sir, we’ve been in there dodgin’ left hooks since before History began to walk. In our struggle for freedom, we’ve hit the canvas many a time, but we always bounced back because we’re the people – and we’re tough. (Applause)

They’ve started a lot of talk about free people goin’ soft, that we can’t take it. That’s a lot of hooey! A free people can beat the world at anything, from war to tiddly-winks if we all pull in the same direction (Applause) I know a lot of you are saying, ‘What can I do? I’m just a little punk. I don’t count.’ Well, you’re dead wrong. The little punks have always counted because in the long run, the character of a country is the sum total of the character of its little punks. (Applause)

But we’ve all got to get in there and pitch. We can’t win the old ball game unless we have teamwork. And that’s where every John Doe comes in. It’s up to him to get together with his teammate. And your teammate, my friends, is the guy next door to ya. Your neighbor – he’s a terribly important guy, that guy next door. You’re gonna need him and he’s gonna need you, so look him up. If he’s sick, call on him. If he’s hungry, feed him. If he’s out of a job, find him one. To most of you, your neighbor is a stranger, a guy with a barkin’ dog and a high fence around him. Now you can’t be a stranger to any guy that’s on your own team. So tear down the fence that separates you. Tear down the fence and you’ll tear down a lot of hates and prejudices. Tear down all the fences in the country and you’ll really have teamwork. (Applause)

I know a lot of you are saying to yourselves: ‘He’s askin’ for a miracle to happen. He’s expecting people to change all of a sudden.’ Well, you’re wrong. It’s no miracle. It’s no miracle because I see it happen once every year and so do you – at Christmas time. There’s something swell about the spirit of Christmas, to see what it does to people, all kinds of people. Now why can’t that spirit, that same warm Christmas spirit, last the whole year round? Gosh, if it ever did, if each and every John Doe would make that spirit last 365 days out of the year – we’d develop such a strength, we’d create such a tidal wave of good will that no human force could stand against it. Yes sir, my friends, the meek can only inherit the earth when the John Does start loving their neighbors. You’d better start right now. Don’t wait till the game is called on account of darkness. Wake up, John Doe, you’re the hope of the world!

Age: 30s 40s 50s
Gender: Monologues For Men
Genre: Drama

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To Have and Have Not (1944)

Screenwriter(s): Jules Furthman, William Faulkner
The incredibly sensuous scene between Steve / Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) and Slim / Marie
Browning (Lauren Bacall), who was trying to seduce him:

Monologue: Who was the girl, Steve?… The one that left you with such a high opinion of women? She must have been quite a gal. You think I lied to you about this, don’t you? Well, it just happens there’s thirty-odd dollars here. Not enough for boat fare, or any other kind of fare. Just enough for me to say ‘no’ if I feel like it, and you can have it if you want it… You wouldn’t take anything from anybody would you?… You know Steve, you’re not very hard to figure. Only at times. Sometimes I know exactly what you’re going to say. Most of the time. The other times, the other times you’re just a stinker.

After kissing him a second time after he had become more receptive, she cooed as she left his room:

It’s even better when you help…. Uh, sure you won’t change your mind about this?… This belongs to me, and so do my lips, I don’t see any difference… Okay, you know you don’t have act with me, Steve. You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to do anything. Not with me. Oh, maybe just whistle. You remember how to whistle, don’t you? Just put your lips together… and blow.

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Movie Monologues For Women
Genre: Drama

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The Lost Weekend (1945)

Screenwriter(s): Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder

Later, in a flashback, drunkard Don Birnam (Ray Milland) confessed his drinking problem to girlfriend Helen St. James (Jane Wyman). He related how his authoring brilliance as a Hemingway-like writer during his college years was soon blocked and tarnished, declining after age nineteen with a recourse to the bottle. He was helplessly schizophrenic, divided between Don the Drunk and Don the Writer. As an aspiring writer, he described the soaring, creative juices that flowed with just a few drinks, and how he spiraled down into despair and agony when the booze wore off. He began his recollections after Helen asked: “What is it you wanna be so much that you’re not?”

Monologue: A writer. Silly, isn’t it? You know, in college, I passed for a genius. They couldn’t get out the college magazine without one of my stories. Boy, was I hot! Hemingway stuff. I reached my peak when I was nineteen. Sold a piece to The Atlantic Monthly, reprinted in the Reader’s Digest. Who wants to stay in college when he’s Hemingway? My mother bought me a brand-new typewriter. And I moved right in on New York. Well, the first thing I wrote, that didn’t quite come off. And the second, I dropped. The public wasn’t ready for that one. I started a third and a fourth. Only by then, somebody began to look over my shoulder and whisper in a thin, clear voice like the E string on a violin. ‘Don Birnam,’ he’d whisper, ‘It’s not good enough, not that way. How about a couple of drinks just to set it on its feet, huh?’ So I had a couple. Oh, what a great idea that was! That made all the difference. Suddenly, I could see the whole thing. The tragic sweep of the great novel beautifully proportioned. But before I could really grab it and throw it down on paper, the drinks would wear off and everything would be gone like a mirage. Then there was despair, and I’d drink to counter-balance despair. And then one to counter-balance the counter-balance. And I’d sit in front of that typewriter trying to squeeze out one page that was half-way decent. And that guy would pop up again…

The other Don Birnam. There are two of us, you know. Don the Drunk and Don the Writer. And the drunk would say to the writer, ‘Come on, you idiot. Let’s get some good out of that portable. Let’s hock it. Let’s take it to that pawn shop over on Third Avenue. It’s always good for ten dollars. Another drink, another binge, another bender, another spree.’ Such humorous words. I’ve tried to break away from that guy a lot of times, but no good. You know, once I even got myself a gun and some bullets. I was gonna do it on my thirtieth birthday. Here are the bullets. The gun went for three quarts of whiskey. That other Don wanted us to have a drink first. He always wants us to have a drink first. The flop suicide of a flop writer.

Age: 30s 40s
Gender: Movie Monologues For Men
Genre: Drama

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Adam’s Rib (1949)

Screenwriter(s): Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin

Amanda Bonner’s (Katharine Hepburn) closing argument in court to defend the actions of her client Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday), using the principle of equality before the law. In a “revealing experiment” to reverse the couple’s sex-stereotyped roles, she asked the jury to imagine the defendant Mrs. Attinger as a home-protecting man, to picture “slick home-wrecker” Miss Caighn as a predatory wolfish man (with short dark hair and a mustache), and to fantasize that Mr. Attinger was a woman (with blonde hair). The camera showed the action through the eyes of the jurors – each of the three characters were momentarily transformed. Amanda defended the “unwritten law” – the passionate-lover defense that allowed a man to break the law to save his home by killing his wife when caught in bed with a lover. And she argued that the wife Doris [and by extension all women] was entitled to the same defense and justice in the courts that a man received, whatever that justice may be:

Monologue: And so the question here is equality before the law, regardless of religion, color, wealth, or, as in this instance, sex…Law, like man, is composed of two parts: Just as man is body and soul, so is the law, letter and spirit. The law says, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ yet men have killed, and proved a reason, and been set free. Self-defense, defense of others, of wife, of children, and home. If a thief breaks into your house, and you shoot him, the law will not deal harshly with you, nor indeed should it. So here, you are asked to judge not whether or not these acts were committed, but to what extent they were justified. Now, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I request that you join me in a revealing experiment. I ask you all to direct your attention to the defendant, Mrs. Attinger. Now keep looking at her, keep watching. Listen carefully and look at her. Look at her hard. Now imagine her a man. Go on now, use your imaginations. Think of her as a man sitting there accused of a like crime — a husband, who is only trying to protect his home.

Now hold it. Hold that impression and look at Beryl Caighn. Look at her. Look at her hard, a man, a slick home wrecker, a third party, a wolf! You know the type. Alright, hold that impression and look at Mr. Attinger, and suppose him a woman. Try, try hard. Ah, yes, there she is. The guilty wife! Look at her! Does she arouse your sympathy?! Alright! Now you have it! Judge it so! An unwritten law stands back of a man who fights to defend his home. Apply this same law to this maltreated wife, and neglected woman. We ask you no more: equality. Deep in the heart of South America, there thrives today a civilization far older than ours: a people known as the Loquiňanos, descended from the Amazons. In this vast tribe, members of the female sex rule and govern, and systematically deny equal rights to the men, made weak and puny by years of subservience, too weak to revolt. And yet, how long have we lived in the shadow of a like injustice?

Consider this unfortunate woman’s act as though you yourselves had each committed it. Every living being is capable of attack, if sufficiently provoked. Assault lies dormant within us all. It requires only circumstance to set it in violent motion. I ask you for a verdict of not guilty. There was no murder attempt here, only a pathetic attempt to save a home.

Age: 30s 40s 50s
Gender: Monologues For Women
Genre: Drama

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All the King’s Men (1949)

Screenwriter(s): Robert Rossen
Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford) gave a no-notes rousing, half-drunken campaign speech at a
fairgrounds barbecue, during his campaign for Louisiana governor, when he threw away his prepared
speech:

Monologue: My friends, my friends, I have a speech here. It’s a speech about what this state needs. There’s no need in my telling you what this state needs. You are the state and you know what you need. You over there, look at your pants. Have they got holes in the knees? Listen to your stomach. Did you ever hear it rumble for hunger? And you, what about your crops? Did they ever rot in the field because the road was so bad you couldn’t get ’em to market? And you, what about your kids? Are they growin’ up ignorant as dirt, ignorant as you ’cause there’s no school for ’em?

Naw, I’m not gonna read you any speech. But I am gonna tell ya a story. It’s a funny story so get ready to laugh….Get ready to bust your sides laughin’, ’cause it’s sure a funny story. It’s about a hick, a hick like you, if ya please. Yeah, like you. He grew up on the dirt roads and the gully washes of a farm. He knew what it was to get up before dawn and get feed and slop and milk before breakfast, and then set out before sunup and walk six miles to a one-room, slab-sided schoolhouse.

Aw, this hick knew what it was to be a hick, all right. He figured if he was gonna get anything done, well, he had to do it himself. So he sat up nights and studied books. He studied law, because he thought he might be able to change things some – for himself and for folks like him. Now I’m not gonna lie to ya. He didn’t start off thinkin’ about the hicks and all the wonderful things he was gonna do for ’em. Naw, naw, he started off thinkin’ of number one.

But somethin’ came to him on the way. How he could do nothin’ for himself without the help of the people. That’s what came to him. And it also came to him with the powerful force of God’s own lightning back in his home county when the school building collapsed ’cause it was built of politics’ rotten brick. It killed and mangled a dozen kids. But you know that story. The people were his friends because he’d fought that rotten brick. And some of the politicians down in the city, they knew that, so they rode up to his house in a big, fine, shiny car and said as how they wanted him to run for Governor….And he swallowed it. He looked in his heart and he thought in all humility, how he’d like to try and change things. He was just a country boy who thought that even the plainest, poorest man can be Governor if his fellow citizens find he’s got the stuff for the job. All those fellas in the striped pants, they saw that hick and they took him in…

There he is! There’s your Judas Iscariot! Look at him! …Look at him….! (Chaos) Now, shut up! Shut up, all of ya! Now listen to me, ya hicks. Yeah, you’re hicks too, and they fooled you a thousand times just like they fooled me. But this time, I’m gonna fool somebody. I’m gonna stay in this race. I’m on my own and I’m out for blood. Now listen to me, you hicks! Listen to me, and lift up your eyes and look at God’s blessed and unfly-blown truth.

And this is the truth! You’re a hick, and nobody ever helped a hick but a hick himself! Alright, listen to me! Listen to me! I’m the hick they were gonna use to split the hick vote. Well, I’m standin’ right here now on my hind legs. Even a dog can learn to do that. Are you standin’ on your hind legs? Have you learned to do that much yet? Here it is! Here it is, ya hicks! Nail up anybody who stands in your way! Nail up Joe Harrison! Nail up McMurphy! And if they don’t deliver, give me the hammer and I’ll do it myself!

Age: 40s 50s 60s
Gender: Monologues For Men
Genre: Comedy/Drama

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The Fountainhead (1949)

Screenwriter(s): Ayn Rand

Architect Howard Roark (Gary Cooper) made a closing summation (of author-screenwriter Ayn Rand’s
treatise on Objectivism) to a jury, defending his destruction of housing project buildings that had perverted his original design plans – his words were so powerful that the jury found him not-guilty:

Monologue: Thousands of years ago, the first man discovered how to make fire. He was probably burned at the stake he had taught his brothers to light, but he left them a gift they had not conceived and he lifted darkness off the earth. Throughout the centuries, there were men who took first steps down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision. The great creators, the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors, stood alone against the men of their time. Every new thought was opposed. Every new invention was denounced. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid, but they won. No creator was prompted by a desire to please his brothers. His brothers hated the gift he offered. His truth was his only motive. His work was his only goal. His work, not those who used it. His creation, not the benefits others derived from it. The creation which gave form to his truth. He held his truth above all things and against all men. He went ahead whether others agreed with him or not, with his integrity as his only banner. He served nothing and no one. He lived for himself. And only by living for himself was he able to achieve the things which are the glory of mankind. Such is the nature of achievement.

Man cannot survive except through his mind. He comes on earth unarmed. His brain is his only weapon. But the mind is an attribute of the individual. There is no such thing as a collective brain. The man who thinks must think and act on his own. The reasoning mind cannot work under any form of compulsion. It cannot be subordinated to the needs, opinions, or wishes of others. It is not an object of sacrifice. The creator stands on his own judgment – the parasite follows the opinions of others. The creator thinks – the parasite copies. The creator produces – the parasite loots. The creator’s concern is the conquest of nature the parasite’s concern is the conquest of men. The creator requires independence. He neither serves nor rules. He deals with men by free exchange and voluntary choice. The parasite seeks power. He wants to bind all men together in common action and common slavery. He claims that man is only a tool for the use of others, that he must think as they think, act as they act, and live in selfless, joyless servitude to any need but his own.

Look at history. Everything we have, every great achievement has come from the independent work of some independent mind. Every horror and destruction came from attempts to force men into a herd of brainless, soulless robots, without personal rights, without person ambition, without will, hope, or dignity. It is an ancient conflict. It has another name – ‘The individual against the collective.’ Our country, the noblest country in the history of men, was based on the principle of individualism, the principle of man’s ‘inalienable rights.’ It was a country where a man was free to seek his own happiness, to gain and produce, not to give up and renounce. To prosper, not to starve. To achieve, not to plunder. To hold as his highest possession a sense of his personal value, and as his highest virtue his self-respect. Look at the results. That is what the collectivists are now asking you to destroy, as much of the earth has been destroyed.

I am an architect. I know what is to come by the principle on which it is built. We are approaching a world in which I cannot permit myself to live. My ideas are my property. They were taken from me by force, by breach of contract. No appeal was left to me. It was believed that my work belonged to others, to do with as they pleased. They had a claim upon me without my consent, that it was my duty to serve them without choice or reward. Now you know why I dynamited Courtland. I designed Courtland. I made it possible. I destroyed it. I agreed to design it for the purpose of seeing it built as I wished. That was the price I set for my work. I was not paid. My building was disfigured at the whim of others who took all the benefits of my work and gave me nothing in return.

I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone’s right to one minute of my life, nor to any part of my energy, nor to any achievement of mine, no matter who makes the claim! It had to be said – The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing. I came here to be heard in the name of every man of independence still left in the world. I wanted to state my terms. I do not care to work or live on any others. My terms are – A man’s right to exist for his own sake.

Age: 30s 40s 50s
Gender: Movie Monologues For Men
Genre: Drama

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From Here to Eternity (1953)

Screenwriter(s): Daniel Taradash
Private Robert “Prew” Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) explained his decision to never box again:

Monologue: Some of the guys are puttin’ me over the jumps ’cause I don’t want to fight…yeah, on the boxing team. Idon’t want to box. I don’t even want to think about it…see, I used to fight, middleweight. And I was pretty good and they know it…I used to work out with this guy Dixie Wells. He’s a real good friend of mine.Loved to box. People on the outside had their eye on him. He was gonna come out of the Army and go right up to the top. Well, one afternoon, he and I were sparrin’ around in the gym, you know, kind of friendly-like. And, he must have been set pretty flat on his feet ’cause I caught him with a, no more’n ordinary right cross, and uh, he didn’t get up. He didn’t move. He was in a coma for a week, and uh, finally, he did pull out of it. Only the thing was that he was blind. Well, I went to see him at the hospital a couple of times and finally I just couldn’t go back. The last time he and I started talking about fighting, and uh, he started to cry. And seein’ tears comin’ out of those eyes that couldn’t see anything.

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Monologue For Men
Genre: Drama

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East of Eden (1955)

Screenwriter(s): Paul Osborn
Abra’s (Julie Harris) “It’s awful not to be loved” speech to bedridden Mr. Adam Trask (Raymond Massey)
regarding his relationship with son Cal (James Dean):

Monologue: Excuse me, Mr. Trask, for daring to speak to you this way, but it’s awful not to be loved. It’s the worst thing in the world. Don’t ask me how I know that. I just know it. It makes you, it makes you mean and violent and cruel. And that’s the way Cal has always felt, all his life. I know you didn’t mean it to be that way, but it’s true. You never gave him your love. You never asked him for his. You never asked him for one thing. Cal is going away, Mr. Trask. But before he goes, well, he did something very bad, and I’m not asking you to forgive him. You have to give him some sign that you love him, or else he’ll never be a man. He’ll just keep on feeling guilty and alone, unless you release him. Please help him. I love Cal, Mr. Trask, and I want him to be whole and strong and you’re the only one who can do it. So try, please try. If you could, if you could ask him for something. Let him help you so that he knows that you love him. Let him do for you. Excuse me, Mr. Trask, for daring to speak to you this way, but I just had to.

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Monologues For Women
Genre: Drama

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Gypsy (1962)

Screenwriter(s): Leonard Spigelgass
Louise Hovick/Gypsy Rose Lee’s (Natalie Wood) confrontational telling off of her overbearing
stage mother Mama Rose Hovick (Rosalind Russell):

Monologue: Nobody laughs at me! Because I laugh first — at ME! ME, from Seattle! ME, with no education! ME, with no talent, as you kept reminding me my whole life! Well, Mama, look at me now! I’m a STAR! Look! Look how I live! Look at my friends! Look where I’m going! I’m not staying in burlesque! I’m moving! Maybe up, maybe down! But wherever it is, I’m enjoying it! I’m having the time of my life, because for the first time, it IS my life! And I LOVE it! I love every second of it, and I’ll be DAMNED if you’re gonna take it away from me! I AM GYPSY ROSE LEE, and I love her! And if you don’t, you can just clear out now!

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Monologues For Women
Genre: Drama
One minute monologue: Yes

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Persona (1966, Swe.)

Screenwriter(s): Ingmar Bergman

Director Ingmar Bergman’s intense psychological, dramatic thriller involved two women in a patient/nurse relationship during one summer at a seaside cottage or vacation home.

Sister Alma (Bibi Andersson), a young 25 year-old nurse

Mrs. Elisabet Vogler (Liv Ullmann), a well-known stage actress who had been mute and semi- catatonic for three months, and became Alma’s patient

During a vivid confessional monologue (one of the most explicit verbal descriptions of sex ever heard on screen), Alma (who was engaged to fiancee Karl-Henrik at the time) described a private and secret sexual experience to Elisabet that she had had at the beach with a friend named Katarina when they were sunbathing in the nude, completely naked. Two boys came up to them and Katrina encouraged one of the boys to have sex with her. Feeling left out, Alma also asked for sex too. Ultimately a second boy named Peter was also invited to participate:

Monologue: I went to the beach on my own. It was a warm and lovely day. There was another girl there. She’d paddled over from another island because our beach was sunnier and more secluded. We lay there sunbathing beside one another, completely naked, dozing now and then, putting suntan lotion on. We had those cheap straw hats on, you know? I had a blue ribbon around mine. I lay there peeping out from under my hat at the landscape and the sea and the sun. It was kind of funny.

Suddenly, I saw two figures leaping about on the rocks above us. They would hide and then peek out. ‘There’s a couple boys looking at us,’ I told the girl. Her name was Katarina. ‘Let them look,’ she said, and turned over on her back. It was a strange feeling. I wanted to jump up and put on my robe, but I just lay there on my stomach with my bottom in the air, not at all embarrassed, completely calm. Katarina lay there next to me the whole time, with her breasts and thick thighs. She just lay there sort of giggling to herself. I noticed that the boys had come closer. They just stood there looking at us. I noticed they were terribly young. Then one of them, the more daring of the two, came up and squatted down next to Katarina. He pretended to be busy picking at his toes. I felt so strange.

Suddenly, I heard Katarina say, ‘Hey, why don’t you come over here?’ She took him by the hand and helped him off with his jeans and shirt. Then suddenly, he was on top of her. She guided him in with her hands on his behind. The other boy just sat on the slope and watched. I heard Katarina whisper in the boy’s ear and laugh. His face was right next to mine. It was red and swollen. Suddenly, I turned over and said, ‘Aren’t you coming over to me, too?’ And Katarina said, ‘Go to her now.’ He pulled out of her and fell on top of me, completely hard. He grabbed my breast. It hurt so bad. I was ready somehow, and came almost at once.

Can you believe it? I was about to say, ‘Careful you don’t get me pregnant’ – when he suddenly came. I felt it like never before in my life, the way he sprayed his seed into me. He gripped my shoulders and arched backwards. I came over and over. Katarina lay on her side and watched, and held him from behind. After he came, she took him in her arms and used his hand to make herself come. When she came, she screamed like a banshee. Then all three of us started laughing. We called to the other boy who was sitting on the slope. His name was Peter. He came down, looking all confused and shivering despite the sunshine. Katarina unbuttoned his pants and started to play with him. And when he came, she took him in her mouth. He bent down and kissed her back.

She turned around, took his head in both hands and gave him her breast. The other boy got so excited, that he and I started all over again. It was just as good as before. Then we went for a swim and parted ways. When I got home, Karl-Henrik was already back from town. We ate dinner and drank some red wine he’d brought. Then we had sex. It’s never been as good, before or since. Can you understand that?

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Movie Monologues For Women
Genre: Drama

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Best Movie Monologues Of All Time

Here is a list we have compiled of some of the greatest movie monologue performances of all time. The list is in no particular order we hope you enjoy!

Famous Movie Monologues List

Pulp Fiction (1994) – Samuel L. Jackson’s speech as Jules Winnfield

Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” is known for its unique narrative style and unforgettable dialogue, with the monologue delivered by Samuel L. Jackson’s character being a standout. It perfectly captures the essence of the movie, making it one of the most iconic monologues of all time.

Gone Girl – Cool Girl

Scent of a Woman (1992) – Al Pacino’s speech as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade

Malice (1993) – Alec Baldwin’s speech as Dr. Jed Hill

JFK (1991) – Kevin Costner’s speech as Jim Garrison

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) – Alec Baldwin’s speech as Blake

Denzel Washington’s ‘Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow’ monologue in Macbeth (2021)

A Few Good Men (1992) – Jack Nicholson’s speech as Colonel Nathan R. Jessup

Hidden Figures – Taraji P. Henson

The Dark Knight (2008) – Heath Ledger’s Speech As The Joker

Good Will Hunting (1997) – Robin Williams’ speech as Sean Maguire (terrified of what you might find out)

The Godfather (1972) – Marlon Brando’s speech as Vito Corleone

Braveheart (1995) – Mel Gibson’s speech as William Wallace

Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada

Kill Bill – Uma Thurman

Roy Batty – Blade Runner “Tears In Rain”

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. [laughs] Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like [coughs] tears in rain. Time to die.”

We hope you enjoyed this list of classic monologues from movies. If you would like to browse more monologue please go to our monologue database by clicking below.

Monologue Database

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The Godfather of American playwrights Eugene O’Neill has a catalog of plays that remain unmatched in American theater. From Long Days Journey Into Night to The Iceman Cometh his plays are still amongst the most revered by actors all over the world. If you are a young man working your way through drama school you will most likely be be dealt with the task of working on parts like Jamie and Edmund Tyrone or a young woman with Anna Christie.

Eugene O’Neills deeply personal work makes for all-encompassing uncut characters that will elevate and actors work craft when working on the roles. The completeness of the characters force actors to bring a “full bucket” in order to do the roles justice. There can be no half way work when working on O’Neill and that is why it is important immerse yourself in his work as a young actor. In that spirit we have put together a list of Eugene O’Neill monologues for you to explore and work on.

Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace. – Eugene O’Neill

Eugene O’Neill Monologues

Monologues from Anna Christie

ANNA: I s’pose if I tried to tell you I wasn’t- that- no more you’d believe me, wouldn’t you? Yes, you would! And if I told you that yust getting out in this barge, and being on the sea had changed me and made me feel different about things,’s if all I’d been through wasn’t me and didn’t count and was yust like it never happened- you’d laugh, wouldn’t you? And you’d die laughing sure if I said that meeting you that funny way that night in the fog, and afterwards seeing that you was straight goods stuck on me, had got me to thinking for the first time, and I sized you up as a different kind of man- a sea man as different from the ones on land as water is from mud- and that was why I got stuck on you, too. I wanted to marry you and fool you, but I couldn’t. Don’t you see how I’d changed? I couldn’t marry you with you believing a lie- and I was shamed to tell you the truth- till the both of you forced my hand, and I seen you was the same as all the rest. And now, give me a bawling out and beat it, like I can tell you’re going to. Will you believe it if I tell you that loving you has made me- clean? It’s the straight goods, honest! Like hell you will! You’re like all the rest!

Age: 20s 30s 40s
Gender: Monologues For Women
Type: Monologues From Plays
Genre: Drama
One minute monologue

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ANNA: I s’pose if I tried to tell you I wasn’t- that- no more you’d believe me, wouldn’t you? Yes, you would! And if I told you that yust getting out in this barge, and being on the sea had changed me and made me feel different about things,’s if all I’d been through wasn’t me and didn’t count and was yust like it never happened- you’d laugh, wouldn’t you? And you’d die laughing sure if I said that meeting you that funny way that night in the fog, and afterwards seeing that you was straight goods stuck on me, had got me to thinking for the first time, and I sized you up as a different kind of man- a sea man as different from the ones on land as water is from mud- and that was why I got stuck on you, too. I wanted to marry you and fool you, but I couldn’t. Don’t you see how I’d changed? I couldn’t marry you with you believing a lie- and I was shamed to tell you the truth- till the both of you forced my hand, and I seen you was the same as all the rest. And now, give me a bawling out and beat it, like I can tell you’re going to. Will you believe it if I tell you that loving you has made me- clean? It’s the straight goods, honest! Like hell you will! You’re like all the rest!

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Monologues For Women
Type: Monologues From Plays
Genre: Drama

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Monologues From The Hairy Ape

YANK: I scared her? Why de hell should I scare her? Who de hell is she? Ain’t she de same as me? Hairy ape, huh?

(With his old confident bravado.)

I’ll show her I’m better’n her, if she on’y knew it. I belong and she don’t, see! I move and she’s dead! Twenty-five knots a hour, dats me! Dat carries her but I make dat. She’s on’y baggage. Sure!

(Again bewilderedly.)

But, Christ, she was funny lookin’! Did yuh pipe her hands? White and skinny. Yuh could see de bones trough ’em. And her mush, dat was dead white, too. And her eyes, dey was like dey’d seen a ghost. Me, dat was! Sure! Hairy ape! Ghost, huh? Look at dat arm!

(He extends his right arm, swelling out the great muscles.)

I coulda took her wit dat, wit’ just my little finger even, and broke her in two.

(Again bewilderedly.)

Say, who is dat skoit, huh? What is she? What’s she come from? Who made her? Who give her de noive to look at me like dat? Dis ting’s got my goat right. I don’t get her. She’s new to me. What does a skoit like her mean, huh? She don’t belong, get me! I can’t see her.

(With growing anger.)

But one ting I’m wise to, aw right, aw right! Youse all kin bet your shoits I’ll git even wit her. I’ll show her if she tinks she- She grinds de organ and I’m on de string, huh? I’ll fix her! Let her come down again and I’ll fling her in de furnace! She’ll move den! She won’t shiver at nothin’, den! Speed, dat’ll be her! She’ll belong den!

Age: 20’s, 30’s, 40’s
Gender: Monologues For Men
Type: Monologues From Plays
Genre: Drama

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MILDRED: Please do not mock at my attempts to discover how the other half lives. Give me credit for some sort of groping sincerity in that at least. I would like to help them. I would like to be some use in the world. Is it my fault I don’t know how? I would like to be sincere, to touch life somewhere.

(With weary bitterness.)

But I’m afraid I have neither the vitality nor integrity. All that was burnt out in our stock before I was born. Grandfather’s blast furnaces, flaming to the sky, melting steel, making millions- then father keeping those home fires burning, making more millions- and little me at the tail-end of it all. I’m a waste product in the Bessemer process- like the millions. Or rather, I inherit the acquired trait of the by-product, wealth, but none of the energy, none of the strength of the steel that made it. I am sired by gold and darned by it, as they say at the race track- damned in more ways than one.

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Monologues For Women
Type: Monologues From Plays
Genre: Drama
One minute monologue

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Monologues From Long Days Journey Into Night

EDMUND: You’ve just told me some high spots in your memories. Want to hear mine? They’re all connected with the sea. Here’s one. When I was on the Squarehead square rigger, bound for Buenos Aires. Full moon in the trades. The old hooker driving fourteen knots. I lay on the bowsprit, facing astern, with the water foaming into spume under me, the masts with every sail white in the moonlight, towering high above me. I became drunk with the beauty and the singing rhythm of it, and for a moment I lost myself–actually lost my life. I was set fee! I dissolved in the sea, became white sails and flying spray, became beauty and rhythm, became moonlight and the ship and the high dim-starred sky! I belonged without, past or future, within peace and unity and a wild joy, within something greater than my own life, or the life of Man, to Life itself! To God if you want to put it that way. Then another time, on the American line, when I was lookout in the crow’s nest on the dawn watch. A calm sea, that time. Only a lazy ground swell and a slow drowsy roll of the ship. The passengers asleep and none of the crew in sight. No sound of man. Black smoke pouring from the funnels behind and beneath me. Dreaming, not keeping lookout, feeling alone, and above and apart, watching the dawn creep like a painted dream over the sky and sea which slept together. Then the moment of ecstatic freedom came. The peace, the end of the quest, the last harbor, the joy of belonging to a fulfillment beyond men’s lousy, pitiful, greedy fears and hopes and dreams! And several other times in my life, when I was swimming far out, or lying alone on the beach, I have had the same experience. Became the sun, the hot sand, green seaweed anchored to a rock, swaying in the tide. Like a saint’s vision of beatitude. Like the veil of things as they seem drawn back by an unseen hand. For a second you see–and seeing the secret, are the secret. For a second there is meaning! Then the hand lets the veil fall and you are alone, lost in the fog again, and you stumble on toward nowhere, for no good reason! (He grins wryly) It was a great mistake my being born a man, I would have been much more successful as a seagull or a fish. As it is I will always be a stranger who never feels at home, who does not really want and is not really wanted, who can never belong, who must always be a little in love with death!

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Monologues For Men
Type: Monologues From Plays
Genre: Drama

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Edmund: God, Papa, ever since I went to sea and was on my own, and found out what hard work for little pay was, and what it felt like to be broke, and starve, and camp on park benches because I had no place to sleep, I’ve tried to be fair to you because I knew what you’d been up against as a kid. I’ve tried to make allowances. Christ, you have to make allowances in this damned family or go nuts! I have tried to make allowances for myself when I remember all the rotten stuff I’ve pulled! I’ve tried to feel like Mama that you can’t help being what you are where money is concerned. But God Almighty, this last stunt of yours is too much! It makes me want to puke! Not because of the rotten way you’re treating me. To hell with that! I’ve treated you rottenly, in my way, more than once. But to think when it’s a question of your son having consumption, you can show yourself up before the whole town as such a stinking old tightwad! Don’t you know Hardy will talk and the whole damn town will know! Jesus, Papa, haven’t you any pride or shame? (Bursting with rage.) And don’t think I’ll let you get away with it! I won’t go to any damned state farm just to save you a few lousy dollars to buy more bum property with! You stinking old miser! (He chokes huskily, his voice trembling with rage, and then is shaken by a fit of coughing.)

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Monologues For Men
Type: Monologues From Plays
Genre: Drama

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JAMIE {swaying and blinking in the doorway -—in a loud voice). What ho What ho.

EDMUND {sharply). Nix on the loud noise

JAMIE {blinks at him). Oh, hello, Kid. [With great seriousness]
I’m as drunk as a fiddler’s bitch.

EDMUND {dryly). Thanks for telling me your great secret.

JAMIE {grins foolishly). Yes Unnecessary information Number One, eh?

{He bends and slaps at the knees of his trousers.)

Had serious accident. The fron’ steps tned to trample on me. Took advantage of fog to waylay me Ought to be a hghthouse out there. Dark in here, too {Scowling ) What the hell is this, the morgue?
Lesh have some light on subject.

{He sways forward to the table reciting Kipling.) Ford, ford, ford o’ Kabul river, Ford o’ Kabul river in the dark! Keep the crossing-stakes beside you, an’ they will surely gmde you ’Cross the ford o’ Kabul nver in the dark.”

{He fumbles at the chandelier and manages to turn on the three bulbs.)

Thash more like it. To hell with old Gaspard. Where is the old tightwad? Can’t expect us to live in the Black Hole of Calcutta,

{His eyes fix on the bottle of whisky.)

Say! Have I got the DT’s?

{He reaches out fumhlingly and grabs it.)

By God, It’s real. What’s matter with the old man tonight? Must be ossified to forget he left this out. Grab opportunity by the forelock.  Key to my success.
{He slops a big drink into a glass.)

EDMUND. You’re stinking now. That will knock you stiff.

JAMIE. Wisdom from the mouth of babes. Can the wise stuff Kid. You’re still wet behind the ears.

{He lowers himself into a chair, holding the drink carefully aloft}

EDMUND. All right. Pass out if you want to.

JAMIE Can’t, that’s trouble. Had enough to sink a ship, but can’t sink, here’s hoping. {He drinks.)

Age: 20s 30s
Gender: Monologues For Men
Type: Monologues From Plays
Genre: Drama

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Mary explains her use of the morphine to Cathleen, the servant.

MARY. I have to take it because there is no other that can stop the pain – all of the pain – I mean, in my hands. Poor hands! You’d never believe it, but they were once one of my god points, along with my hair and eyes, and I had a fine figure too. They were a musician’s hands. I used to love the piano. I worked so hard at my music in the Convent – if you can call it work when you do something you love. Mother Elizabeth and my music teacher both said I had more talent than any student they remembered. My father paid for special lessons. He spoiled me. He would do anything I asked. He would have sent me to Europe to study after I graduated from the Convent.I might have gone – if I hadn’t fallen in love with Mr. Tyrone. or I might have become a nun. I had two dreams. To be a nun, that was the more beautiful one. To become a concert pianist, that was the other. I haven’t touched a piano in so many years. I couldn’t play with such crippled fingers, even if I wanted to. For a time after my marriage I tried to keep up my music. But it was hopeless. One-night stands, cheap hotels, dirty trains, leaving children, never having a home – See, Cathleen, how ugly they are! So maimed and crippled! You would think they’d been trough some horrible accident! So they have, come to think of it. I won’t look at them. They’re worse than the foghorn for reminding me – But even they can’t touch me now. They’re far away. I see them, but the pain has gone.

Age: 40s 50s 60s
Gender: Monologues For Women
Type: Monologues From Plays
Genre: Drama

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We hope you enjoy this list of Eugene O’Neill monologues and just to remind you there are many more monologues in our monologue database that you can access below

Monologues For Actors

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One of the greatest American Playwrights of all time Arthur Miller has penned some of the most iconic theater characters of all time like Willie Lowman from Death Of A Saleman. With all these incredible works and characters come really beautiful and timely monologues. As a working actor or actor in training you should almost certainly work on some or all of Arthur Miller’s great plays and really familiarize yourself with some of the iconic monologues. Working on monologues will only hone your craft and work that muscle which will translate into better character work and even scene work. In honor of the great Arthur Miller and all he has done for theater we have put together an incredible list of Arthur Miller Monologues from some of his most iconic plays.

Arthur Miller Monologues

Death Of A Salesman Monologues

Summary: Biff, who has been living in his father’s shadow for his whole life, finally confronts his old man about the realities of his work prospects and his desire to be freed from his father’s unrealistic expectations of him.

BIFF: Now hear this, Willy, this is me. You know why I had no address for three months? I stole a suit in Kansas City and Iwas jailed. I stole myself out of every good job since high school. And I never gotanywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders fromanybody! That’s whose fault it is! It’s goddamn time you heard that! I had to be boss bigshot in two weeks, and I’m through with it! Willy! I ran down eleven flights with a pen inmy hand today. And suddenly I stopped, you hear me? And in the middle of that officebuilding, do you hear this? I stopped in the middle of that building and I saw – the sky. Isaw the things that I love in the world. The work and the food and the time to sit andsmoke. And I looked at the pen and said to myself, what the hell am I grabbing this for?Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be? What am I doing in an office,making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting forme the minute I say I know who I am! Why can’t I say that, Willy? Pop! I’m a dime adozen, and so are you! I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you. You werenever anything but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash-can like all the restof them! I’m one dollar an hour, Willy! I tried seven states and couldn’t raise it! A buck anhour! Do you gather my meaning? I’m not bringing home any prizes any more, andyou’re going to stop waiting for me to bring them home! Pop, I’m nothing! I’m nothing,Pop. Can’t you understand that? There’s no spite in it any more. I’m just what I am,that’s all. Will you let me go, for Christ’s sake? Will you take that phoney dream andburn it before something happens?

Willy: Business is definitely business, but just listen for a minute. You don’t understand this. When I was a boy, eighteen, nineteen, I was already on the road. And there was a question in my mind as to whether selling had a future for me. Because in those days I had a yearning to go to Alaska. See, there were three gold strikes in one month in Alaska, and I felt like going out. Just for the ride, you might say. Oh, yeah, my father lived many years in Alaska. He was an adventurous man. We’ve got quite a little streak of self-reliance in our family. I thought I’d go out with my older brother and try to locate him, and maybe settle in the North with the old man. And I was almost decided to go, when I met a salesman in the Parker House. His name was Dave Singleman. And he was eighty-four years old, and he’d drummed merchandise in thirty-one states. And old Dave, he’d go up to his room, you understand, put on his green velvet slippers, I’ll never forget, and pick up his phone and call the buyers, and without ever leaving his room, at the age of eighty-four, he made his living. And when I say that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. ‘Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eight-four, into twenty of thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people? Do you know? When he died, and by the way he died the death of a salesman, in his green velvet slippers in the smoker of the New York, New Haven and Hartford, going into Boston, when he died, hundreds of salesman and buyers were at his funeral. Things were sad on a lotta trains for months after that. See in those days there was personality in it, Howard. There was respect, and comradeship, and gratitude in it. Today, it’s all cut and dried and there’s no chance for bringing friendship to bear or personality. You see what I mean? They don’t know me anymore!

LINDA: Then make Charley your father, Biff. You can’t do that, can you? I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He’s not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person. You called him crazy, no, a lot of people think he’s lost his balance. But you don’t have to be very smart to know what his trouble is. The man is exhausted. A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man. He works for a company thirty six years this March, opens up unheard-of territories to their trademark, and now in his old age they take his salary away. Are they any worse than his sons? When he brought them business, when he was young, they were glad to see him. But now his old friends, the old buyers that loved him so and always found some order to hand him in a pinch, they’re all dead, retired. He used to be able to make six, seven calls a day in Boston. Now he takes his valises out of the car and puts them back and takes them out again and he’s exhausted. Instead of walking he talks now. He drives seven hundred miles, and when he gets there no one knows him anymore, no one welcomes him. And what goes through a man’s mind, driving seven hundred miles home without having earned a cent? Why shouldn’t he talk to himself? Why? When he has to go to Charley and borrow fifty dollars a week and pretend to me that it’s his pay? How long can that go on? How long? You see what I’m sitting here and waiting for? And you tell me he has no character? The man who never worked a day but for your benefit? When does he get the medal for that?

All My Sons Monologues

Chris Keller is a good son and has never revolted against his father until now. He went to war with his brother, Larry, but only Chris came back. His father, Joe Keller, owns a factory that made cylinder heads for airplanes during the war. Joe shipped disabled parts out of his factory, which ended up killing many American pilots, but he blamed it on another worker. Chris has finally found out after many years that his father is responsible for the incident, and his father is not who Chris thinks he is.

CHRIS: Dad…you did it? (Shocked but keeping voice down) You did it to the others? You sent out a hundred and twenty cracked engine- heads and let those boys die! How could you do that? How? (Voice rises with anger) Dad, you killed twenty-one men! You killed them, you murdered them. (Becomes more furious) Explain it to me. What did you do? (Pause) Explain it to me or I will tear you to pieces! You had a hundred and twenty cracked engine-heads. Why’d you ship them out in the first place? If you knew they were cracked, then why didn’t you tell them? (Relatively long pause, becomes more disgusted) You knew they wouldn’t hold up in the air. You knew that those planes would come crashing down. Were you going to warn them not to use them? Why did you let them out of the factory? (Pause) What kind of a man are you? Kids were hanging in the air by those heads. You knew that, and yet you did nothing about it! (Startled) You did it for me? You wanted to save the business for me? (With burning fury) Is that as far as your mind can see, the business? Don’t you have a country? Don’t you live in the world? What are you? You’re not even an animal, no animal kills his own, what are you? I ought to tear the tongue out of your mouth! What must I do? (Begins to weep) What must I do?

KATE KELLER: I was fast asleep, and — Remember the way he used to fly low past the house when he was intraining? When we used to see his face in the cockpit going by? That’s the way I saw him.
Only high up. Way, way up, where the clouds are. He was so real I could reach out and touch
him. And suddenly he started to fall. And crying, crying to me…Mom, Mom! I could hear him
like he was in the room. Mom! … it was his voice! If I could touch him I knew I could stop him, if
I could only – I woke up and it was so funny – The wind … it was like the roaring of his engine. I
came out here. I must’ve still been half asleep. I could hear that roaring like he was going by.
The tree snapped right in front of me – and I like – came awake. See?
We should never have planted that tree. I said so in the first place; it was too soon to plant a
tree for him.

The Crucible Monologues

MARY WARREN (18-year-old girl, accusing a woman of witchcraft, near hysterical)
I never knew it before. I never knew anything before. When she come into the court I say to myself, I must not accuse this woman, for she sleep in ditches, and so very old and poor….But then….then she sit there, denying and denying, and I feel a misty coldness climbin’ up my back, and the skin on my skull begin to creep, and I feel a clamp around my neck and I cannot breath air, and then………I hear a voice, a screamin’ voice, and it were my voice…..and all at once I remembered everything she done to me!!! So many time, Mister Proctor, she come to this very door beggin’ bread and cider…and mark this…whenever I turned her away empty…..she mumbled!!! You must remember Goody Proctor—last month—a Monday I think…she walked away and I though my guts would burst for two days after. Do you remember it?

ELIZABETH PROCTOR (a somewhat reserved woman, deeply worried about her husband’s affair and what the girl may do to her)
Spoke or silent, a promise is surely made. And she may dote on it now—I am sure she does—and thinks to kill me, then to take my place. It is her dearest hope, John, I know it. There be a thousand names, why does she call mine? There be a certain danger in calling such a name—I am no Goody Good that sleeps in ditches, nor Osburn drunk and half-witted. She’s dare not call out such a farmer’s wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place, John. John, have you ever shown her somewhat of contempt? She cannot pass you in the church but you will blush…and I think she sees another meaning in that blush. I think you be somewhat ashamed, for I am there, and she so close. Go and tell her she’s a whore. Whatever promise she may sense break it John!! Break it!!!!!

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS (17, trying to coax the man she had an affair with to stop rejecting her)
Why, you taught me goodness, therefore you are good. It were a fire you walked me through, and all my ignorance was burned away. It were a fire, John, we lay in fire. And from that night no woman dare call me wicked any more but I knew my answer. I used to weep for my sins when the wind lifted up my skirts; and blushed for shame because some old Rebecca called me loose. And then you burned my ignorance away. As bare as some December tree I saw them all—walking like saints to church, running to feed the sick, and hypocrites in their hearts! And God gave me strength to call them liars, and God made men to listen to me, and by God I will scrub the world clean for the love of God. Oh John, I will make you such a wife when the world is white again! You will be amazed to see me every day, a light of heaven in your house, a…..Why are you cold?!

TITUBA (a slave from Barbados, trying to save her life after being accused of working with Satan) Bless Him. Bless Him. Eternal glory. Bless Him – bless God… Oh, bless the Lord. Was – was woman. It was black dark, and…Well, they was always talking; they was always runnin’ round and carryin’ on. I believe so, yes, sir. Oh, God bless you, Mr. Hale! Oh, God, protect Tituba! There was four. There was four. Oh, how many times he bid me kill you, Mr. Parris. He say, Mr. Parris must be kill! Mr. Parris no goodly man, Mr. Parris mean man and no gentle man, and he bid me rise out of my bed and cut your throat! But I tell him know. I don’t hate that man. I don’t want kill that man. But he say, you work for me, Tituba, and I make you free! I give you pretty dress to wear, and put you way high up in the air, and you gone fly back to Barbados! And I say, you lie, Devil, you lie! And then he come one stormy night to me, and he say, Look! I have white people belong to me. And I look – and there was Goody Good.

JUDGE DANFORTH (stern judge, defending his court proceedings)
Mister Hale, believe me; for a man of such terrible learning you are most bewildered—I hope you will forgive me. I have been thirty-two year at the bar, sire, and I should be confounded were I called upon to defend these people. Let you consider, now, and I bid you all do likewise:– in an ordinary crime, how does one defend these people? Let you consider, now— and I bid you all do likewise — -in an ordinary crime, how does one defend the accused? One calls up witnesses to prove his innocence. But witchcraft is ipso facto, on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime. Therefore, we must rely upon her victims—–and they do testify, the children certainly do testify. As for the witches, none will deny that we are most eager for their confessions. Therefore, what is left for a lawyer to bring out? I think I have made my point. Have I not?

REV. SAMUEL PARRIS (self-absorbed minister, horrified that his reputation is in danger)
I cannot blink what I saw, Abigail, for my enemies will not blink it. I saw a dress lying in the grass and I thought I saw someone naked running through the trees. I saw it! Now tell me true, Abigail. Now my ministry’s at stake; my ministry and perhaps your cousin’s life….Whatever abomination you have done, give me all of it now, for I dare not be taken unaware when I go before them down there. Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when there must be some good respect for me in the parish, you compromise my very character. I have given you a home, child, I have put clothes upon your back—now give me upright answer:— your name in the town—–it is entirely white, is it not? Abigail, is there any other cause than you have told me, for Goody Proctor discharging you? It has troubled me that you are now seven months out of their house, and in all this time no other family has ever called for your service.

JOHN PROCTOR (a flawed man admitting to having an affair with 17-year-old Abigail to the courts in order to save his wife’s life)
In what time and place? In the proper place, where my beasts are bedded. Eight months now, sir, it is eight months. She used to serve me in my house, sir. A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything. I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her what she is. My wife, my dear good wife took this girl soon after, sir, and put her out on the high road. And being what she is, a lump of vanity, sir (he starts to weep) Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might! For I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat! But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it; I set myself entirely in your hands, I know you must see it now. My wife is innocent, except she know a harlot when she see one!!!

A View From The Bridge Monologues

CATHERINE: Don’t, don’t laugh at me! I’ve been here all my life. Every day I saw him when he left in the morning and when he came home at night. You think it’s so easy to turn around and say to a man he’s nothing to you no more? You don’t know – nobody knows! I’m not a baby, I know a lot more than people think I know. 

Beatrice says to be a woman but – then, why don’t she be a woman! If I was a wife I would make a man happy instead of going at him all the time! I can tell from a block away when he’s blue in the mind and just needs to talk to somebody quiet and nice. I can tell when he’s hungry or wants a beer before he even says anything. I know when his feet hurt him – I mean, I know him, and now I’m supposed to turn around and make a stranger out of him? I don’t know why I have to do that, I mean.

ALFIERI: You wouldn’t have known it, but something amusing has just happened. You see how uneasily they nod to me? That’s because I am a lawyer. In this neighborhood to meet a lawyer or a priest on the street is unlucky. We’re only thought of in connection with disasters, and they’d rather not get too close.
I often think that behind that suspicious little nod of theirs lie three thousand years of distrust. A lawyer means the law, and in Sicily, from where their fathers came, the law has not been a friendly idea since the Greeks were beaten.
I am inclined to notice the ruins in things, perhaps because I was born in Italy . . . I only came here when I was twenty-five. In those days, Al Capone, the greatest Carthaginian of all, was learning his trade on these pavements, and Frankie Yale himself was cut precisely in half by a machine gun on the corner of Union Street, two blocks away. Oh, there were many here who were justly shot by unjust men. Justice is very important here.
But this is Red Hook, not Sicily. This is the slum that faces the bay on the seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge. This is the gullet of New York swallowing the tonnage of the world. And now we are quite civilized, quite American. Now we settle for half, and I like it better. I no longer keep a pistol in my filing cabinet.

And my practice is entirely unromantic.

My wife has warned me, so have my friends; they tell me the people in this neighborhood lack elegance, glamour. After all, who have I dealt with in my life? Longshoremen and their wives, and fathers and grandfathers, compensation cases, evictions, family squabbles – the petty troubles of the poor – and yet . . . every few years there is still a case, and as the parties tell me what the trouble is, the flat air in my office suddenly washes in with the green scent of the sea, the dust in this air is blown away and the thought comes that in some Caesar’s year, in Calabria perhaps or on the cliff at Syracuse, another lawyer, quite differently dressed, heard the same complaint and sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course.

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Ever been overlooked for a promotion? Been made to feel jealous of a potentially cheating spouse? Plotted revenge on your boss? Yes? Then you’ll love this compilation of Othello monologues from one of Shakespeare’s most action packed tragedies. Weather you’re a villainous aspiring Iago, a philosophizing Emilia, a bewildered and earnestly loving wife like Desdemona or a blinded by jealous rage, Othello, you’ll surly find a speech to suit your word to the action and action to the word!

Have fun looking through these 12 Othello Monologues we have picked for you to work on. Have a great rehearsal!

1. Iago – Act 1, Scene 1

Three great ones of the city,
In personal suit to make me his lieutenant,
Off-capp’d to him: and, by the faith of man,
I know my price, I am worth no worse a place:
But he; as loving his own pride and purposes,
Evades them, with a bombast circumstance
Horribly stuff’d with epithets of war;
And, in conclusion, Nonsuits my mediators;
for, ‘Certes,’ says he, ‘I have already chose my officer.’
And what was he? Forsooth, a great arithmetician,
One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,
A fellow almost damn’d in a fair wife;
That never set a squadron in the field,
Nor the division of a battle knows
More than a spinster; unless the bookish theoric,
Wherein the toged consuls can propose
As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practise,
Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election:
And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof
At Rhodes, at Cyprus and on other grounds
Christian and heathen, must be be-lee’d and calm’d
By debitor and creditor: this counter-caster,
He, in good time, must his lieutenant be,
And I—God bless the mark!—his Moorship’s ancient.

Download this monologue here

2. Iago Act 1, Scene 1

O, sir, content you;I follow him to serve my turn upon him:
We cannot all be masters, nor all masters
Cannot be truly follow’d. You shall mark
Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave,
That, doting on his own obsequious bondage,
Wears out his time, much like his master’s ass,
For nought but provender, and when he’s old, cashier’d:
Whip me such honest knaves. Others there are
Who, trimm’d in forms and visages of duty,
Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves,
And, throwing but shows of service on their lords,
Do well thrive by them and when they have lined their coats
Do themselves homage: these fellows have some soul;
And such a one do I profess myself. For, sir,
It is as sure as you are Roderigo,
Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago:
In following him, I follow but myself;
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end:
For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, ’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

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3. Roderigo Act 1, Scene 1

Sir, I will answer any thing. But, I beseech you,
If’t be your pleasure and most wise consent,
As partly I find it is, that your fair daughter,
At this odd-even and dull watch o’ the night,
Transported, with no worse nor better guard
But with a knave of common hire, a gondolier,
To the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor—
If this be known to you and your allowance,
We then have done you bold and saucy wrongs;
But if you know not this, my manners tell me
We have your wrong rebuke. Do not believe
That, from the sense of all civility,
I thus would play and trifle with your reverence:
Your daughter, if you have not given her leave,
I say again, hath made a gross revolt;
Tying her duty, beauty, wit and fortunes
In an extravagant and wheeling stranger
Of here and every where. Straight satisfy yourself:
If she be in her chamber or your house,
Let loose on me the justice of the state
For thus deluding you.

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4. Othello Act 1, Scene 3

Her father loved me; oft invited me;
Still question’d me the story of my life,
From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes,
That I have passed.
I ran it through, even from my boyish days,
To the very moment that he bade me tell it;
Wherein I spake of most disastrous chances,
Of moving accidents by flood and field
Of hair-breadth scapes i’ the imminent deadly breach,
Of being taken by the insolent foe
And sold to slavery, of my redemption thence
And portance in my travels’ history:
Wherein of antres vast and deserts idle,
Rough quarries, rocks and hills whose heads touch heaven
It was my hint to speak,—such was the process;
And of the Cannibals that each other eat,
The Anthropophagi and men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders. This to hear
Would Desdemona seriously incline:
But still the house-affairs would draw her thence:
Which ever as she could with haste dispatch,
She’ld come again, and with a greedy ear
Devour up my discourse: which I observing,
Took once a pliant hour, and found good means
To draw from her a prayer of earnest heart
That I would all my pilgrimage dilate,
Whereof by parcels she had something heard,
But not intentively: I did consent,
And often did beguile her of her tears,
When I did speak of some distressful stroke
That my youth suffer’d. My story being done,
She gave me for my pains a world of sighs:
She swore, in faith, twas strange, ’twas passing strange,
‘Twas pitiful, ’twas wondrous pitiful:
She wish’d she had not heard it, yet she wish’d
That heaven had made her such a man: she thank’d me,
And bade me, if I had a friend that loved her,
I should but teach him how to tell my story.
And that would woo her. Upon this hint I spake:
She loved me for the dangers I had pass’d,
And I loved her that she did pity them.
This only is the witchcraft I have used:
Here comes the lady; let her witness it.

Download This Monologue Here

5. Iago Act 1, Scene 3

Thus do I ever make my fool my purse:
For I mine own gain’d knowledge should profane,
If I would time expend with such a snipe.
But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor:
And it is thought abroad, that ‘twixt my sheets
He has done my office: I know not if’t be true;
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do as if for surety. He holds me well;
The better shall my purpose work on him.
Cassio’s a proper man: let me see now:
To get his place and to plume up my will
In double knavery—How, how? Let’s see:—
After some time, to abuse Othello’s ear
That he is too familiar with his wife.
He hath a person and a smooth dispose
To be suspected, framed to make women false.
The Moor is of a free and open nature,
That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,
And will as tenderly be led by the nose As asses are.
I have’t. It is engender’d. Hell and night
Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.

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6. Desdemona Act 3, Scene 3

Why, then, to-morrow night; or Tuesday morn;
On Tuesday noon, or night; on Wednesday morn:
I prithee, name the time, but let it not
Exceed three days: in faith, he’s penitent;
And yet his trespass, in our common reason—
Save that, they say, the wars must make examples
Out of their best—is not almost a fault
To incur a private cheque. When shall he come?
Tell me, Othello: I wonder in my soul,
What you would ask me, that I should deny,
Or stand so mammering on. What! Michael Cassio,
That came a-wooing with you, and so many a time,
When I have spoke of you dispraisingly,
Hath ta’en your part; to have so much to do
To bring him in! Trust me, I could do much,—

 Why, this is not a boon;
‘Tis as I should entreat you wear your gloves,
Or feed on nourishing dishes, or keep you warm,
Or sue to you to do a peculiar profit
To your own person: nay, when I have a suit
Wherein I mean to touch your love indeed,
It shall be full of poise and difficult weight
And fearful to be granted.

Download This Monologue Here

7. Desdemona Act 4, Scene 2

O good Iago, What shall I do to win my lord again?
Good friend, go to him; for, by this light of heaven,
I know not how I lost him. Here I kneel:
If e’er my will did trespass ‘gainst his love,
Either in discourse of thought or actual deed,
Or that mine eyes, mine ears, or any sense,
Delighted them in any other form;
Or that I do not yet, and ever did.
And ever will—though he do shake me off
To beggarly divorcement—love him dearly,
Comfort forswear me! Unkindness may do much;
And his unkindness may defeat my life,
But never taint my love. I cannot say ‘whore:’
It does abhor me now I speak the word;
To do the act that might the addition earn
Not the world’s mass of vanity could make me.

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8. Emilia Act 4, Scene 3

But I do think it is their husbands’ faults
If wives do fall: say that they slack their duties,
And pour our treasures into foreign laps,
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite;
Why, we have galls, and though we have some grace,
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see and smell
And have their palates both for sweet and sour,
As husbands have. What is it that they do
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is: and doth affection breed it?
I think it doth: is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too: and have not we affections,
Desires for sport, and frailty, as men have?
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so.

Download This Monologue Here

9. Iago Act 2, Scene 1

That Cassio loves her, I do well believe it;
That she loves him, ’tis apt and of great credit:
The Moor, howbeit that I endure him not,
Is of a constant, loving, noble nature,
And I dare think he’ll prove to Desdemona
A most dear husband. Now, I do love her too;
Not out of absolute lust, though peradventure
I stand accountant for as great a sin,
But partly led to diet my revenge,
For that I do suspect the lusty Moor
Hath leap’d into my seat; the thought whereof
Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards;
And nothing can or shall content my soul
Till I am even’d with him, wife for wife,
Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor
At least into a jealousy so strong
That judgment cannot cure. Which thing to do,
If this poor trash of Venice, whom I trash
For his quick hunting, stand the putting on,
I’ll have our Michael Cassio on the hip,
Abuse him to the Moor in the rank garb—
For I fear Cassio with my night-cap too—
Make the Moor thank me, love me and reward me.
For making him egregiously an ass
And practising upon his peace and quiet
Even to madness. ‘Tis here, but yet confused:
Knavery’s plain face is never seen tin used.

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Iago Act 2, Scene 1

Touch me not so near:I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth
Than it should do offence to Michael Cassio;
Yet, I persuade myself, to speak the truth
Shall nothing wrong him. Thus it is, general.
Montano and myself being in speech,
There comes a fellow crying out for help:
And Cassio following him with determined sword,
To execute upon him. Sir, this gentleman
Steps in to Cassio, and entreats his pause:
Myself the crying fellow did pursue,
Lest by his clamour—as it so fell out—
The town might fall in fright: he, swift of foot,
Outran my purpose; and I return’d the rather
For that I heard the clink and fall of swords,
And Cassio high in oath; which till to-night
I ne’er might say before. When I came back—
For this was brief—I found them close together,
At blow and thrust; even as again they were
When you yourself did part them.
More of this matter cannot I report:
But men are men; the best sometimes forget:
Though Cassio did some little wrong to him,
As men in rage strike those that wish them best,
Yet surely Cassio, I believe, received
From him that fled some strange indignity,
Which patience could not pass.

Download This Monologue Here

10. Iago Act 2, Scene 3

And what’s he then that says I play the villain?
When this advice is free I give and honest,
Probal to thinking and indeed the course
To win the Moor again? For ’tis most easy
The inclining Desdemona to subdue
In any honest suit: she’s framed as fruitful
As the free elements. And then for her
To win the Moor—were’t to renounce his baptism,
All seals and symbols of redeemed sin,
His soul is so enfetter’d to her love,
That she may make, unmake, do what she list,
Even as her appetite shall play the god
With his weak function. How am I then a villain
To counsel Cassio to this parallel course,
Directly to his good? Divinity of hell!
When devils will the blackest sins put on,
They do suggest at first with heavenly shows,
As I do now: for whiles this honest fool
Plies Desdemona to repair his fortunes
And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor,
I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear,
That she repeals him for her body’s lust;
And by how much she strives to do him good,
She shall undo her credit with the Moor.
So will I turn her virtue into pitch,
And out of her own goodness make the net
That shall enmesh them all.

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11. Othello Act 4, Scene 2

Had it pleased heaven

To try me with affliction; had they rain’d
All kinds of sores and shames on my bare head.
Steep’d me in poverty to the very lips,
Given to captivity me and my utmost hopes,
I should have found in some place of my soul
A drop of patience: but, alas, to make me
A fixed figure for the time of scorn
To point his slow unmoving finger at!
Yet could I bear that too; well, very well:
But there, where I have garner’d up my heart,
Where either I must live, or bear no life;
The fountain from the which my current runs,
Or else dries up; to be discarded thence!
Or keep it as a cistern for foul toads
To knot and gender in! Turn thy complexion there,
Patience, thou young and rose-lipp’d cherubin,—
Ay, there, look grim as hell!

O, ay; as summer flies are in the shambles,
That quicken even with blowing. O thou weed,
Who art so lovely fair and smell’st so sweet
That the sense aches at thee, would thou hadst
ne’er been born!
Was this fair paper, this most goodly book,
Made to write ‘whore’ upon? What committed!
Committed! O thou public commoner!
I should make very forges of my cheeks,
That would to cinders burn up modesty,
Did I but speak thy deeds. What committed!
Heaven stops the nose at it and the moon winks,
The bawdy wind that kisses all it meets
Is hush’d within the hollow mine of earth,
And will not hear it. What committed!
Impudent strumpet!

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12. Othello Act 5, Scene 2

Behold, I have a weapon;

A better never did itself sustain
Upon a soldier’s thigh: I have seen the day,
That, with this little arm and this good sword,
I have made my way through more impediments
Than twenty times your stop: but, O vain boast!
Who can control his fate? ’tis not so now.
Be not afraid, though you do see me weapon’d;
Here is my journey’s end, here is my butt,
And very sea-mark of my utmost sail.
Do you go back dismay’d? ’tis a lost fear;
Man but a rush against Othello’s breast,
And he retires. Where should Othello go?
Now, how dost thou look now? O ill-starr’d wench!
Pale as thy smock! when we shall meet at compt,
This look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven,
And fiends will snatch at it. Cold, cold, my girl!
Even like thy chastity. O cursed slave!
Whip me, ye devils,
From the possession of this heavenly sight!
Blow me about in winds! roast me in sulphur!
Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire!
O Desdemona! Desdemona! dead!
Oh! Oh! Oh!

Download This Monologue Here

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The Hamlet soliloquies.

The most popular play by the world’s best known playwright, contains the world’s most famous character from a play who has the most recognizable lines in the history of theater.

Here are all of Hamlet’s monologues, including everything from ‘To be, or not to be.’ To the lesser known ‘Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice
And could of men distinguish, her election
Hath seal’d thee for herself.’

Enjoy this list of Monologues From Hamlet!

1. Act 1, Scene 2

O that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d
His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on’t! ah, fie! ‘Tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
But two months dead! Nay, not so much, not two.
So excellent a king, that was to this
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on; and yet, within a month-
Let me not think on’t! Frailty, thy name is woman!-
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father’s body
Like Niobe, all tears- why she, even she
(O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourn’d longer) married with my uncle;
My father’s brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules. Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to good.
But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue!

2. Act 1, Scene 4

Ay, marry, is’t;But to my mind, though I am native here
And to the manner born, it is a custom
More honour’d in the breach than the observance.
This heavy-headed revel east and west
Makes us traduc’d and tax’d of other nations;
They clip us drunkards and with swinish phrase
Soil our addition; and indeed it takes
From our achievements, though perform’d at height,
The pith and marrow of our attribute.
So oft it chances in particular men
That, for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As in their birth,- wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin,-
By the o’ergrowth of some complexion,
Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason,
Or by some habit that too much o’erleavens
The form of plausive manners, that these men
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,
Being nature’s livery, or fortune’s star,
Their virtues else- be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo-
Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault. The dram of e’il
Doth all the noble substance often dout To his own scandal.

3. Act 1, Scene 5

O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else?
And shall I couple hell? Hold, hold, my heart!
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee?
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past
That youth and observation copied there,
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix’d with baser matter. Yes, by heaven!
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My tables! Meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain
At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark. [Writes.]
So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word:
It is ‘Adieu, adieu! Remember me.’
I have sworn’t.

4. Act 2, Scene 2

I will tell you why. So shall my anticipation prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to the King and Queen moult no feather. I have of late- but wherefore I know not- lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises; and indeed, it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o’erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire- why, it appeareth no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours. What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! And yet to me what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me- no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.

5. Act 2, Scene 2

O what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That, from her working, all his visage wann’d,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in’s aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her? What would he do,
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech;
Make mad the guilty and appal the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears.
Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing! No, not for a king,
Upon whose property and most dear life
A damn’d defeat was made. Am I a coward?
Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?
Plucks off my beard and blows it in my face?
Tweaks me by th’ nose? gives me the lie i’ th’ throat
As deep as to the lungs? Who does me this, ha?
‘Swounds, I should take it! for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-liver’d and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites
With this slave’s offal. Bloody bawdy villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!
O, vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murther’d,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must (like a whore) unpack my heart with words
And fall a-cursing like a very drab,
A scullion!
Fie upon’t! foh! About, my brain! Hum, I have heard
That guilty creatures, sitting at a play,
Have by the very cunning of the scene
Been struck so to the soul that presently
They have proclaim’d their malefactions;
For murther, though it have no tongue, will speak
With most miraculous organ, I’ll have these Players
Play something like the murther of my father
Before mine uncle. I’ll observe his looks;
I’ll tent him to the quick. If he but blench,
I know my course. The spirit that I have seen
May be a devil; and the devil hath power
T’ assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits,
Abuses me to damn me. I’ll have grounds
More relative than this. The play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.
[Exit]

5. Act 3, Scene 1

To be, or not to be- that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them. To die- to sleep-
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. ‘Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die- to sleep.
To sleep- perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub!
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th’ oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despis’d love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th’ unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would these fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death-
The undiscover’d country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns- puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.- Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia!- Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins rememb’red.

6. Act 3, Scene 1

Hamlet. Get thee to a nunnery! Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me. I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious; with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do, crawling between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves all; believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery. Where’s your father?

Ophelia. At home, my lord.

Hamlet. Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the fool nowhere but in’s own house. Farewell.

Ophelia. O, help him, you sweet heavens!

Hamlet. If thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery. Go, farewell. Or if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go; and quickly too. Farewell.

Ophelia. O heavenly powers, restore him!

Hamlet. I have heard of your paintings too, well enough. God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another. You jig, you amble, and you lisp; you nickname God’s creatures and make your wantonness your ignorance. Go to, I’ll no more on’t! it hath made me mad. I say, we will have no moe marriages. Those that are married already- all but one- shall live; the rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go.

7. Act 3, Scene 2

Hamlet. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounc’d it to you, trippingly on the tongue. But if you mouth it, as many of our players do, I had as live the town crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and (as I may say) whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. O, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the cars of the groundlings, who (for the most part) are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb shows and noise. I would have such a fellow whipp’d for o’erdoing Termagant. It out-herods Herod. Pray you avoid it.

First Player. I warrant your honour.

Hamlet. Be not too tame neither; but let your own discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you o’erstep not the modesty of nature: for anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as ’twere, the mirror up to nature; to show Virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure. Now this overdone, or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the censure of the which one must in your allowance o’erweigh a whole theatre of others. O, there be players that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly (not to speak it profanely), that, neither having the accent of Christians, nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed that I have thought some of Nature’s journeymen had made men, and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.

First Player. I hope we have reform’d that indifferently with us, sir.

Hamlet. O, reform it altogether! And let those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them. For there be of them that will themselves laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too, though in the mean time some necessary question of the play be then to be considered. That’s villanous and shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it. Go make you ready.

8. Act 3, Scene 2

Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice
And could of men distinguish, her election
Hath seal’d thee for herself. For thou hast been
As one, in suff’ring all, that suffers nothing;
A man that Fortune’s buffets and rewards
Hast ta’en with equal thanks; and blest are those
Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled
That they are not a pipe for Fortune’s finger
To sound what stop she please. Give me that man
That is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him
In my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart,
As I do thee. Something too much of this I
There is a play to-night before the King.
One scene of it comes near the circumstance,
Which I have told thee, of my father’s death.
I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,
Even with the very comment of thy soul
Observe my uncle. If his occulted guilt
Do not itself unkennel in one speech,
It is a damned ghost that we have seen,
And my imaginations are as foul
As Vulcan’s stithy. Give him heedful note;
For I mine eyes will rivet to his face,
And after we will both our judgments join
In censure of his seeming.

9. Act 3, Scene 2

‘Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on. Soft! now to my mother!
O heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever
The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom.
Let me be cruel, not unnatural;
I will speak daggers to her, but use none.
My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites-
How in my words somever she be shent,
To give them seals never, my soul, consent!

10. Act 3, Scene 3

Now might I do it pat, now he is praying;
And now I’ll do’t. And so he goes to heaven,
And so am I reveng’d. That would be scann’d.
A villain kills my father; and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To heaven.
Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge!
He took my father grossly, full of bread,
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May;
And how his audit stands, who knows save heaven?
But in our circumstance and course of thought,
‘Tis heavy with him; and am I then reveng’d,
To take him in the purging of his soul,
When he is fit and seasoned for his passage?
No. Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent.
When he is drunk asleep; or in his rage;
Or in th’ incestuous pleasure of his bed;
At gaming, swearing, or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in’t-
Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven,
And that his soul may be as damn’d and black
As hell, whereto it goes. My mother stays.
This physic but prolongs thy sickly days.

11. Act 3, Scene 4

Look here upon th’s picture, and on this,
The counterfeit presentment of two brothers.
See what a grace was seated on this brow;
Hyperion’s curls; the front of Jove himself;
An eye like Mars, to threaten and command;
A station like the herald Mercury
New lighted on a heaven-kissing hill:
A combination and a form indeed
Where every god did seem to set his seal
To give the world assurance of a man.
This was your husband. Look you now what follows.
Here is your husband, like a mildew’d ear
Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes?
Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed,
And batten on this moor? Ha! have you eyes
You cannot call it love; for at your age
The heyday in the blood is tame, it’s humble,
And waits upon the judgment; and what judgment
Would step from this to this? Sense sure you have,
Else could you not have motion; but sure that sense
Is apoplex’d; for madness would not err,
Nor sense to ecstacy was ne’er so thrall’d
But it reserv’d some quantity of choice
To serve in such a difference. What devil was’t
That thus hath cozen’d you at hoodman-blind?
Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight,
Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans all,
Or but a sickly part of one true sense
Could not so mope.
O shame! where is thy blush? Rebellious hell,
If thou canst mutine in a matron’s bones,
To flaming youth let virtue be as wax
And melt in her own fire. Proclaim no shame
When the compulsive ardour gives the charge,
Since frost itself as actively doth burn,
And reason panders will.

12. Act 4, Scene 4

How all occasions do inform against me
And spur my dull revenge! What is a man,
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.
Sure he that made us with such large discourse,
Looking before and after, gave us not
That capability and godlike reason
To fust in us unus’d. Now, whether it be
Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple
Of thinking too precisely on th’ event,-
A thought which, quarter’d, hath but one part wisdom
And ever three parts coward,- I do not know
Why yet I live to say ‘This thing’s to do,’
Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means
To do’t. Examples gross as earth exhort me.
Witness this army of such mass and charge,
Led by a delicate and tender prince,
Whose spirit, with divine ambition puff’d,
Makes mouths at the invisible event,
Exposing what is mortal and unsure
To all that fortune, death, and danger dare,
Even for an eggshell. Rightly to be great
Is not to stir without great argument,
But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honour’s at the stake. How stand I then,
That have a father kill’d, a mother stain’d,
Excitements of my reason and my blood,
And let all sleep, while to my shame I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men
That for a fantasy and trick of fame
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot
Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain? O, from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!

13. Act 5, Scene 1

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio. A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times. And now how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kiss’d I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? Quite chap- fall’n? Now get you to my lady’s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come. Make her laugh at that.

The post Monologues From Hamlet appeared first on We Are Actors.

In this article, we will be gearing all our suggestions from plays towards monologues for queer actors. Until the last century, LQBTQ+ artists and stories were by-and-large hidden, silenced and outlawed within the wider theatre community. Considering many great writers from Tennessee Williams to Lorraine Hansberry to Oscar Wilde to even Shakespeare would today characterize themselves as a part of the queer community, the influence LGTBQ+ voices have had on the history of storytelling is clear and vital. The early 20th century in America saw the beginning of inclusion with works like The Drag by Mae West, though opposed by authorities, playing to great success among NY audiences. Since that time, many plays centering around queer narratives have cemented themselves as pillars of the American Theatre.

We’ve selected some monologues for queer actors from some of these plays, in the hopes that you can use them in an audition room. They are strong, beautiful and complicated pieces and we recommend preparing them in detail before using them. So start today, and when you nail one of these pieces, you’ll be sure that the audition room won’t forget you.

MONOLOGUES FOR QUEER ACTORS

ANGELS IN AMERICA

In this monologue, Joe begs his wife, Harper, to stay with him even though she knows he is attracted to men. They are both Mormons. Age Range: 25-35

JOE: Stay. We can fix it. I pray for that. I pray for God to crush me, break me up into little pieces and start all over again…I had a book of Bible stories when I was a kid. There was a picture I’d look at twenty times every day: Jacob wrestles with the angel. I don’t really remember the story, or why the wrestling—just the picture. Jacob is young and very strong. The angel is . . . a beautiful man, with golden hair and wings, of course. I still dream about it. Many nights. I’m . . . It’s me. In that struggle. Fierce, and unfair. The angel is not human, and it holds nothing back, so how could anyone human win, what kind of a fight is that? It’s not just. Losing means your soul thrown down in the dust, your heart torn out from God’s. But you can’t not lose. 

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ANGELS IN AMERICA

In this monologue, Louis refuses to believe that his lover, Joe, works for nefarious Lawyer, Roy Cohn. His friend, Belize, has shared this info. He also confides his regret over leaving his sick partner, Prior. Age Range: 25-35

LOUIS: You have always hated me. Because you are in love with Prior and you were when I met him and he fell in love with me, and so now you cook up this . . . I mean how do you know this? That Joe and Roy Cohn are— I don’t believe you. Not . . . Roy Cohn. Joe wouldn’t—Not Roy Cohn. He’s, he’s like the polestar of human evil, he’s like the worst human being who ever lived, the, the damage he’s done, the years and years of, of . . . criminality, that whole era, that— Give me fucking credit for something, please, some little moral shred of, of, of something, OK sure I fucked up, I fucked up everything, I didn’t want to, to face what I needed to face, what life was insisting I face but I don’t know, I’ve always, I’ve always felt you had to, to take action, not sit, not to be, to be trapped, um, stuck, paralyzed by— Even if it’s hard, or really terrifying, or even if it does damage, you have to keep moving, um, forward, instead of— I can’t just, you know, sit around feeling shit, or feeling like shit, I . . . cry way too easily, I fall apart, I’m no good unless I, I strike out at— Which is easy because I’m so fucking furious at my— So I fucked up spectacularly, totally, I’ve ruined my life, and his life, I’ve hurt him so badly but but still, even I, even I am not so utterly lost inside myself that I— I wouldn’t, um, ever, like, sleep with someone who . . . someone who’s Roy Cohn’s . . . Oh no. 

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ANGELS IN AMERICA

In this monologue, Prior defends the future of humanity and his own life against the proposition of the angels that the world is coming to an inevitably depressing end. Age Range: 25-35

PRIOR

We can’t just stop. We’re not rocks. Progress, migration, motion is . . . modernity. It’s animate, it’s what living things do. We desire. Even if all we desire is stillness, it’s still desire for. (On “for” he makes a motion with his hand: starting one place, moving forward) Even if we go faster than we should. We can’t wait. And wait for what? God— God—He isn’t coming back. And even if He did . . .If He ever did come back, if He ever dared to show His face, or his Glyph or whatever in the Garden again. If after all this destruction, if after all the terrible days of this terrible century He returned to see . . . how much suffering His abandonment had created, if all He has to offer is death . . .You should sue the bastard. That’s my only contribution to all this Theology. Sue the bastard for walking out. How dare He. He oughta pay…I want more life. I can’t help myself. I do. I’ve lived through such terrible times, and there are people who live through much much worse, but . . .You see them living anyway. When they’re more spirit than body, more sores than skin, when they’re burned and in agony, when flies lay eggs in the corners of the eyes of their children, they live. Death usually has to take life away. I don’t know if that’s just the animal. I don’t know if it’s not braver to die. But I recognize the habit. The addiction to being alive. We live past hope. If I can find hope anywhere, that’s it, that’s the best I can do. It’s so much not enough, so inadequate but . . . Bless me anyway. I want more life.

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ANGELS IN AMERICA

In this monologue, Belize responds to Louis’ fanatic breakdown and picks apart his thin ideology. Age Range: 25-35

BELIZE

You know what your problem is, Louis? Your problem is that you are so full of piping hot crap that the mention of your name draws flies. You don’t even know Thing One about this guy, do you? Uh-huh. Well ain’t that pathetic. Just so the record’s straight: I love Prior but I was never in love with him. I have a man, uptown, and I have since long before I first laid my eyes on the sorry-ass sight of you—No ’cause you never bothered to ask. Up in the air, just like that angel, too far off the earth to pick out the details. Louis and his Big Ideas. Big Ideas are all you love. “America” is what Louis loves. Well I hate America, Louis. I hate this country. It’s just big ideas, and stories, and people dying, and people like you. The white cracker who wrote the National Anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word “free” to a note so high nobody can reach it. That was deliberate. Nothing on earth sounds less like freedom to me. You come with me to room 1013 over at the hospital, I’ll show you America. Terminal, crazy and mean. I live in America, Louis, that’s hard enough, I don’t have to love it. You do that. Everybody’s got to love something.

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THE NORMAL HEART

In this monologue, Tommy memorializes his friend Nick after he dies of AIDS. Age Range: 30s-40s

TOMMY: I have this tradition. It’s something I do now when a friend dies. I save his Rolodex card. What am I supposed to do, throw it away in the trash can? I won’t do that. No, I won’t. It’s too final. Last year I had five cards. Now I have fifty. A collection of cardboard tombstones bound together with a rubber band. I hate these fucking funerals, I really do.

And you know what else I hate? I hate the memorials. That’s our social life now, going to these things. Nick was a choreographer; not many of you knew that. He was just starting out, he didn’t tell a lot of people. He was waiting to invite you to his big debut at Carnegie Hall or some shit so we could all be proud of him. But he was so good. He had such promise.

We’re losing an entire generation. Young men, at the beginning, just gone. Choreographers, playwrights, dancers, actors. All those plays that won’t get written now. All those dances, never to be danced. In closing, I’m just gonna say I’m mad. I’m fucking mad. I keep screaming inside, “why are they letting us die? Why is no one helping us?” And here’s the truth, here’s the answer: They just don’t like us.

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THE INHERITANCE

In this monologue, Eric bemoans the transactional and thinning support of the modern gay community. Age Range: Late 20s – Early 30s

ERIC: Our culture is being co-opted. I mean, sure it’s great Sean Penn won an Oscar for playing Harvey Milk but American students are still taught nothing about queer history. It feels like we’re getting stripped for parts and the inside is hollowing out. It feels like the community that I came up in is slowly fading away. When was the last time any of us actually hung out at a gay bar? (Pause) My point exactly! Gay bars used to be safe spaces for people like us to be ourselves and to find others like us. Now everyone just goes on to Grindr. But what about thr twenty-year-old kid who’s not looking for sex, but rather for community, for a connection with something that helps him understand himself? Or the sixty-year-old man who’s looking for the same? What happens to that shared culture? If being gay only describes who we love and who we fuck but not also how we encounter the world, then gay culture and gay community would start to disappear. And we still need that community. Because this country is still filled with people who hate us with vengeful, murderous fanaticism.

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THE INHERITANCE

In this monologue, Toby takes down his boyfriend, Eric, for living a life of privilege.Age Range: Late 20s – Early 30s

TOBY

​​That is bullshit, Eric. What you ‘gave’ me? You didn’t give me anything. I built my life from the ground up. I didn’t get to do it from the comfortable middle-class perch that you did. Oh fuck off! I am so sick of your holier-than-thou, thoughtful, sweet and kind fucking bullshit. You act like you’re above the fray, can’t be touched, fucking Yale, fucking Fieldston, fucking save the world by strongly worded Facebook post, when secretly you’re just as manipulative and as self-involved and as frightened as the rest of us. But you slap on this veneer of middle-class perfection and you think that protects you from having to be a real person. But real people are ugly, Eric. Real people are compromised. Real people disappoint each other. Because the world is ugly and compromised and disappointing. And I’m sorry I can’t be perfect like you. I was never given that option. I have no choice but to be a real person.

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THE INHERITANCE

In this monologue, Eric picks apart his boyfriend, Toby, for hiding his personal truth behind art. Age Range: Late 20s – Early 30s

ERIC

You’ve become so good at spinning people you think you can spin me, too. But I know that your book was a fraud from start to finish and your play was even worse. Not without talent, of course. God forbid anyone should accuse you of that. But worse: without truth. Toby, you are so afraid of actually being known – of really looking at yourself – that you have spent the last decade of your life constructing this elaborate narrative that has nothing to do with the truth. What happened to you as a child was unconscionable and it hurts me every single day to know that it did. But that was not the great tragedy of your life, Toby. No, the great tragedy of your life was denying that it was your life, and insisting on another at the expense of the truth. I know who you are, Toby. And I know who you aren’t. You aren’t Elan. And you aren’t Adam. It’s why you gave him the job and it’s why you want to fuck him so badly. Because he is everything you will never be. I couldn’t even look at you after I saw your play. Because it was a betrayal of the frightened little boy you once were. And soon all of New York is going to see it and I will be the only one who’ll remember who you really are. And that’s why you want to get as far away from me as possible: because I would remind you every day of what a fraud you are and what wasted potential your life has become. And that’s what you’re too much of a coward to say.

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THE INHERITANCE

In this monologue, Toby leaves a scathing message for his cheating lover and lead actor in his play, Adam. Age Range: Late 20s – Early 30s

TOBY: You would be nothing without me, do you understand? You would be nothing without this part. I gave you this chance, I’m the one who made it happen. Me. It wasn’t Tom and his magical fifty-year-old Viagra dick, which by now I’m sure has given you herpes. I will never speak to you again, I don’t ever even want to look at you again. And when you win the Tony for this role, which you will, it will be because of me and the part that I’ve written. So if you don’t thank me in your acceptance speech – and I mean, like really lick my ass – I will make sure that everyone knows how you betrayed me and what a back-stabbing, malicious, cock-teasing little Eve Harrington you are. And just for the record: Timothée Chalamet, Ben Platt and Lucas Hedges all passed on this part before we offered it to you. So you should probably thank them in your Tony speech, too. So in conclusion: fuck you, Adam. I wish I’d never met you.

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COCK

In this monologue, John speaks to his female and male lovers, uncertain of who is supposed to be when he is attracted to both. Age Range: 30 -35

JOHN: I’m sorry I’m not speaking, I’m sorry, I know it’s weird but I’m trying to work out how to handle this who to be because I’m two different people with the two of you when you’re separate and now I’m in the middle and no one.

I have absolutely no idea who I am. Everyone else seems to have a personality, a character but I’ve never, I’ve never – I used to do voices, I remember this, and I don’t think anyone can really understand it when I say it but I remember one moment when I couldn’t think what was my own voice, I’d been doing high voices and northern voices and men’s voices and impressions of the teachers and my dad, and people on the telly and everyone was laughing and I tried to go back to my own voice but I couldn’t remember what it is.

And I always stand in front of the mirror for ages, every day I never know what to wear, when I go shopping for clothes I bring him and he says it’s up to you, what do you like, and I think I don’t know I don’t have a fucking clue just choose something that isn’t too strange, that means I don’t look like a fucking idiot.

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One Minute Monologues For Men

There are times where a one minute monologue might be required of you. Most likely in meetings with agents or classes where you audition for casting. The one minute monologue has become commonplace now, so actors have to be their very best to impress casting directors and walk away in a brief period of time. Here are 10 great one minute monologues for men.

Picking the Perfect One Minute Monologue

When it comes down to it, you’ve got to pick the best one minute monologue for you, but there are a few factors to consider while you’re searching for the perfect one. You can start by finding a monologue that makes sense, that tells a story, and that gives you the chance to explore your range and show emotion quickly and efficiently.

Also, put a lot of effort into choosing a one minute monologue that flatters your age range. Monologues for teens and monologues for women are very different from those written for an adult male, so choose carefully. Even if you can nail the Freddie Prinze Jr. monologue from She’s All That, if you’re 35, you might want to take a different route.

Finally, go with a monologue that fits the role in which you’re auditioning. It doesn’t make sense to take your place in front of a table of casting directors and recite a romantic monologue when you’re there to audition for a horror film or comedic play. Show them you can shine in the role they’re offering, or else they won’t know where to put you, even if your audition was top notch.

Ten One Minute Monologues for Men

If you’re having trouble tracking down a one minute monologue, look no further. We’ve got a collection of ten, one minute monologues that will impress any casting director. The execution, of course, is up to you.

The Breakfast Club “Sincerely Yours”

In this dramatic monologue, Brian Johnson writes a letter to Mr. Vernon at the film’s closing. Brian Johnson is funny, smart, and a little nerdy. This monologue’s perfect age range is late-teens to early twenties, as the character has spent his entire Saturday in high-school detention.

Monologue: “Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions, but what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basketcase, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club.

*DOWNLOAD MONOLOGUE HERE*

American Graffiti “Horses” Monologue

Terry Fields lies about his hunting horses to impress Debbie in this comedic one minute monologue. Great for actors auditioning for a comedic role with an age range from late teens to early twenties. Actors with natural comedic talent will excel at this monologue.

Monologue: Oh yeah? I used to have a couple of horses myself. I used them for hunting. I do a lot of hunting. Deer mostly, although I got a couple of bear last year. Yep, they were good ponies — hunting ponies. I had to train ’em special, you know. I had to sell ’em. To get these wheels, and a jeep. I also have a jeep pick-up with four-wheel drive. It’s got a gun rack. And I use that for hunting mostly.

*DOWNLOAD MONOLOGUE HERE*

The Notebook “Allie Comes Back”A fantastic monologue for an actor in his 20’s-30’s, this Noah Calhoun classic will go perfectly for a drama or romance audition. Fill it with emotion because it’s short but powerful.

Monologue: Am I okay? Seven years ago you walked out of my life without so much as a goodbye, and I never heard from you again. You want to know how I’m doing? I fought in the war. Fin’s dead. That’s how I’m doing. My dad sold his house and we sunk every penny both of us ever had into buying this place and fixing it up, and we did. We built this place with our bare hands. Me, hoping in some crazy way that it would bring you back, but it didn’t.
And, now Dad’s dead, too. That’s how I’m doing. And still, even now, after all this time, when I hear a car pull up the driveway, or somebody says my name, or a letter comes, or the phone rings, I get excited, because I think maybe, just maybe, it might be you. But it never is. And now here you are. This ghost, standing in front of me, asking me if I’m okay. Yeah, Allie. I’m just fine. Thanks for stopping by.

*DOWNLOAD MONOLOGUE HERE*

Clueless “Tardiness”

Everybody remembers spacey Travis from Clueless, and, rarely, his acceptance for being late to class more than anyone else is appreciated for what it is; comedic gold. The age range on this monologue is late teens, and it’s perfection for a comedy audition.

Monologue: Thank you, thank-you. This is so unexpected. I didn’t even have a speech prepared… But I would like to say this… tardiness is not something you can do all on your own. Many, many people had to contribute. I’d like to thank my parents for never driving me to school and the L.A. bus drivers for taking a chance on an unknown kid and last, but not least, the wonderful crew at McDonald’s for the long hours they spend making Egg McMuffins, without which I might never be tardy. Thank you.

*DOWNLOAD MONOLOGUE HERE*

Election “You Might Need a Friend”

Dave is a creepy teacher at Tracy’s high school and tries too hard to help her navigate the tricky waters. This monologue is excellent when it sticks to its disturbing roots and works well for males in their 30’s and 40’s.

Monologue: You know, Tracy, I don’t know how to say this, but, well, I notice you don’t seem to have any close friends at Millard. You seem to be kind of a loner. I know. I know it’s not by choice. I just mean, well, being the kind of person you are, it must be really difficult to find someone you can talk to.
Tracy, I’ve been watching you for going on two years now, and I think you are one of the most talented, hard-working, sensitive, attractive, brilliant students — no, human beings — I have ever met. I mean, you’re the real thing. Special. And I know sometimes people like you have to pay a price for their greatness, and that price is loneliness. I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong. But it seems like you might need a friend.

*DOWNLOAD MONOLOGUE HERE*

500 Days of Summer “It’s Not That Simple”

Tom Hansen, the main love interest in the film, gives his friends a short monologue about not defining his relationship with Summer. Males in their 20’s with a romance audition should give this one a shot.

Monologue: I don’t know. It’s not that simple. Like, are we “going steady?” Come on, guys. We’re adults. We know how we feel. We don’t need to label it. “Boyfriend, girlfriend.” That stuff is very… juvenile.
Ok. Number one. Your last girlfriend was Amy Sussman in the 7th grade and you “dated” for an hour. And you, you’ve been with Robyn and no one else since you were ten. I hardly think you two are the authorities on modern relationships.
“Why rock the boat?” is what I’m thinking. Things are going well. If we start putting labels on it, that’s like the kiss of death. Like saying to a girl “I love you.”

*DOWNLOAD MONOLOGUE HERE*

Silver Linings Playbook “It’s Not Like Me and Nikki”

Silver Linings Playbook features Jennifer Lawrence and is full of one-minute-monologues for women, but for a male drama audition, this speech by Pat Solitano takes the cake. There is so much you can do with it, emotion-wise.

Monologue: It’s not at all like me and Nikki. What are you talking about? We’re in love and we’re married. It’s completely different. We have a very unconventional chemistry, it makes people feel awkward, but not me. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever been with. It’s electric between us, okay? Yeah, we wanna change each other, but that’s normal, couples wanna do that, I want her to stop dressing like she dresses, I want her to stop acting so superior to me, okay? And she wanted me to lose weight and stop my mood swings, both of which I’ve done. I mean, people fight. Couples fight. We would fight, we wouldn’t talk for a couple weeks. That’s normal. She always wanted the best for me. She wanted me to be passionate and compassionate. And that’s a good thing. You know? I just, look, I’m my best self today, and I think she’s her best self today, and our love’s gonna be f— amazing.

*DOWNLOAD MONOLOGUE HERE*

American Pie “Jim’s Dad”

This coming of age movie features Jim’s Dad, played by Eugene Levy. He’s hysterical, and he shines during this monologue. For males in their 40’s and 50’s, this one is a stellar comedy pick.

Monologue: Son, I wanted to talk to you about what I think you were trying to do the other day. Now, you may have tried it in the shower, or maybe in bed at night, and not even known what you were doing. Or perhaps you’ve heard your friends talking about it in the locker room. Sure you know, son, but I think you’ve been having a little problem with it. It’s okay, though. What you’re doing is perfectly normal. It’s like practice. Like when you play tennis against a wall. Someday, there’ll be a partner returning the ball. (a beat) You do want a partner, don’t you son?

*DOWNLOAD MONOLOGUE HERE*

Easy A “I’m Hearing Things, Olive”

Olive’s teacher speaks to her about the recent rumors circulating her, and he’s kind, concerned, and genuine. It makes a great comedic or dramatic monologue for men in their 30’s, 40’a or 50’s.

Monologue: I’m hearing things, Olive. You know what I’m talking about. Since everyone puts everything up on Facebook for the world to see. What’s with this need your generation has to document every single thought that ever enters your head? They’re not all gems, you know. “Roman is having an okay day and hopes the ice cream store still has rocky road.” Who gives a rat’s a—?
I guess it wouldn’t matter so much if I didn’t like you. You’re a great girl and I happen to think that all of… this is just an act. I’m just curious why you’re doing it. I just don’t want to see this… damage you. You’re one of the few who’ve actually read the book. If I get one more paper talking about how Hester always took baths and spoke with a terrible British accent… (smiles) I’m really sorry I had to send you to the principal. If you tell anybody, I’ll deny it, but I really wanted to cheer with the rest of the class.

*DOWNLOAD MONOLOGUE HERE*

A Midsummer Night’s Dream “Puck’s Monologue”

Puck’s beautiful monologue is excellent for expressing whimsy and drama, a real gem of a one-minute Shakespeare monologue. This will work for men of most ages, depending on the mood of the audition.

Monologue: If we shadows have offended,Think but this, and all is mended,That you have but slumber’d hereWhile these visions did appear.And this weak and idle theme,No more yielding but a dream,Gentles, do not reprehend:if you pardon, we will mend:And, as I am an honest Puck,If we have unearned luckNow to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue,We will make amends ere long;Else the Puck a liar call;So, good night unto you all.Give me your hands, if we be friends,And Robin shall restore amends.

*DOWNLOAD MONOLOGUE HERE*

The Beauty of One Minute Monologues

While picking a one minute monologue can be time consuming, it’s worth it to choose the perfect one for you and the role in which you’re auditioning. You won’t have much time to show them what you’ve got, so choose one with range and emotion. Good luck!

One Minute Monologues For Women

Monologue Database

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