ABSTRACT

First Published in 1993. The Classical Monologue in two volumes, one for men and one for women, is a fresh selection of the best speeches from the repertoire of the classical theatre, from the Greeks to the beginning of the 20th century. These great dramatic monologues--from all periods and styles, all varied in tone and genre--make an indispensable actor's companion for auditioning, rehearsing and performing. Each monologue is accompanied by textual notes explaining any unusual vocabulary or syntax, and by commentary in which the editors offer interpretative points and practical advice in preparing the speech for performance. Both beginners and experienced actors will find The Classical Monologue a treasury of theatrical riches waiting to be released on stage.

chapter |3 pages

Agamemnon (The Oresteia)

(c. 458 bc) Aeschylus

chapter |3 pages

Antigone

(c. 441 bc) Sophocles

chapter |4 pages

Medea

(c. 431 bc) Euripides

chapter |3 pages

Electra

(c. 418 bc) Sophocles

chapter |3 pages

The Spanish Tragedy

(c. 1586) Thomas Kyd

chapter |4 pages

Tamburlaine (Part I)

(c. 1590) Christopher Marlowe

chapter |3 pages

Arden of Feversham

(c. 1592) Anonymous

chapter |3 pages

Richard III

(1592–4) William Shakespeare

chapter |3 pages

Romeo and Juliet

(c. 1595) William Shakespeare

chapter |3 pages

As You Like It

(1598–1600) William Shakespeare

chapter |2 pages

A Woman Killed with Kindness

(1603) Thomas Heywood

chapter |3 pages

The Honest Whore (Part I)

(1604) Thomas Dekker

chapter |3 pages

Volpone

(1605) Ben Jonson

chapter |3 pages

The Winter's Tale

(1611) William Shakespeare

chapter |3 pages

The White Devil

(1612) John Webster

chapter |3 pages

The Maid's Tragedy

(1612–13) Francis Beaumont & John Fletcher

chapter |3 pages

The Duchess of Malfi

(1612–14) John Webster

chapter |4 pages

The Changeling

(c. 1622) Thomas Middleton & William Rowley

chapter |3 pages

Women Beware Women

(c. 1623) Thomas Middleton

chapter |3 pages

'Tis Pity She's a Whore

(1625–33) John Ford

chapter |3 pages

Life is a Dream

(1635) Calderón [Pedro Calderón de la Barca]

chapter |3 pages

The Misanthrope (1666)

Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin]

chapter |3 pages

Phedra

(1677) Jean Racine

chapter |3 pages

The Game of Love and Chance

(1730) Pierre Marivaux

chapter |3 pages

The Country Wife

(1675) William Wycherley

chapter |3 pages

The Rover (Part I)

(1678) Aphra Behn

chapter |3 pages

The Lucky Chance

(1686) Aphra Behn

chapter |2 pages

The Relapse

(1696) Sir John Vanbrugh

chapter |3 pages

The Provok'd Wife

(1697) Sir John Vanbrugh

chapter |2 pages

The Way of the World

(1700) William Congreve

chapter |3 pages

The Way of the World

(1700) William Congreve

chapter |2 pages

The Beaux' Stratagem

(1707) George Farquhar

chapter |2 pages

The Rivals

(1775) Richard Brinsley Sheridan

chapter |3 pages

The Rivals

(1775) Richard Brinsley Sheridan

chapter |3 pages

Lady Windermere's Fan

(1892) Oscar Wilde

chapter |3 pages

A Woman of No Importance

(1893) Oscar Wilde

chapter |3 pages

The Second Mrs Tanqueray

(1893) Arthur Wing Pinero

chapter |2 pages

An Ideal Husband

(1895) Oscar Wilde

chapter |2 pages

Mrs Warren's Profession

(1902) Bernard Shaw

chapter |3 pages

In the Shadow of the Glen

(1903) J M Synge

chapter |2 pages

Major Barbara

(1907) Bernard Shaw

chapter |2 pages

The Marriage

(1833) Nikolai Gogol

chapter |3 pages

Woyzeck

(1836–7) Georg Büchner

chapter |3 pages

A Month in the Country

(1850) Ivan Turgenev

chapter |3 pages

The Storm

(1860) Alexander Ostrovsky

chapter |2 pages

A Doll's House

(1879) Henrik Ibsen

chapter |3 pages

Miss Julie

(1888) August Strindberg

chapter |3 pages

The Seagull

(1896) Anton Chekhov

chapter |2 pages

Uncle Vanya

(1899) Anton Chekhov

chapter |3 pages

The Dance of Death

(1900) August Strindberg

chapter |3 pages

Play Sources