Classical Monologues From Aeschylus to Bernard Shaw, Volume 2: Older Men's Roles Book

	Preface	xv
	Tragedy/Drama
	Greek/Roman
1	Prometheus cries out against his suffering willed by Zeus ((468+ BC) Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, tr. D. Grene.)	2
2	The Chorus remembers the dead brought home from Troy ((458 BC) Aeschylus, Agamemnon, tr. L. Katz)	5
3	The Chorus condemns Helen for the ruin of Troy ((458 BC) Aeschylus, Agamemnon, tr. L. Katz)	8
4	Aegisthus rejoices in the death of Agamemnon ((458 BC) Aeschylus, Agamemnon, tr. L, Katz)	11
5	Ajax pretends to be reconciled to his shame ((450-440 BC) Sophocles, Ajax, tr. J. Moore)	14
6	Ajax bids farewell to the gods and Athens and falls on his sword ((450-440 BC) Sophocles, Ajax, tr. J. Moore)	17
7	Creon argues the case to his son against disloyalty and anarchy ((441 BC) Sophocles, Antigone, tr. Nicholas Rudall)	20
8	Tiresias violently condemns Creon's stubbornness and folly ((441 BC) Sophocles, Antigone, tr. Nicholas Rudall)	23
9	The Messenger recounts the death of Haemon to his mother ((441 BC) Sophocles, Antigone, tr. P. Arnott)	25
10	The Chorus hymns the wonders and limits of man ((441 BC) Sophocles, Antigone, tr. Elizabeth Wycoff)	28
11	Tiresias, provoked by Oedipus, reveals almost the whole of the oracle's pronouncement ((430-425 BC) Sophocles, Oedipus the King, tr. W. B. Yeats)	29
12	Oedipus confesses his haunting doubts to Jocasta ((430-425 BC) Sophocles, Oedipus the King, tr. W. B. Yeats)	32
13	Oedipus bids farewell to his daughters ((430-425 BC) Sophocles, Oedipus the King, tr. P. Arnott)	34
14	Oedipus condemns himself to exile and death ((430-425 BC) Sophocles, Oedipus the King, tr. D. Grene)	36
15	Theseus catigates his son Hippolytus for adultery ((428 BC) Euripides, Hippolytus, tr. D. Grene)	38
16	Peleus reviles Menelaus and his wife Helen ((417-415 BC) Euripides, Andromache, tr. M. Hadas and J. H. McLean)	41
17	Peleus, outraged at his army's treatment of Andromache, helps her to safety ((417-415 BC) Euripides, Andromache, tr. M. Hadas and J.H. McLean)	44
18	Heracles, dying in agony, curses the wife who sent him the poisoned shirt ((413 BC) Sophocles, The Women of Trachis, tr. M. Jameson)	46
19	Oedipus, unwilling to leave thebes, bemoans his destiny ((409 BC) Euripides, The Phoenician Women, tr. L. Katz)	50
20	Tiresias heatedly defends the god Dionysus against Pentheus' condemnation ((c408 BC) Euripides, The Bacchae, tr. M. Hadas and J. H. McLean)	53
21	The Herdsman reports to Pentheus the magical feats of the Bacchants on their awakening ((c408 BC) Euripides, The Bacchae, tr. M. Hadas and J. H. McLean)	57
22	Oedipus denounces his son Polyneices and prophesies his doom ((406 BC) Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, tr. R. Fitzgerald)	60
23	Oedipus gives his blessing to Athens and goes to his death ((406 BC) Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, tr. R. Fitzgerald)	62
24	Oedipus defends himself against the charge of incest and patricide ((c50-65 AD) Seneca, Oedipus, tr. E. I. Harris, ad. L. Katz, Act 3, Sc. 1)	65
25	Oedipus, blinded and self-exiled, feels relieved by his fate ((c50-65 AD) Seneca, Oedipus, tr. E. I. Harris, ad. L. Katz, Act 5, Sc. 2 and 3)	68
26	Atreus plans his gruesome revenge on his brother Thyestes ((c50-65 AD) Seneca, Thyestes, tr. E. I. Harris, ad. L. Katz, Act 2, Sc. 1)	70
27	Atreus, gloating, observes Thyestes waking after feasting on his sons ((c50-65 AD) Seneca, Thyestes, tr. E. I. Harris, ad. L. Katz, Act 5, Sc. and 3)	73
28	Hercules, having in his madness destroyed his wife and sons, now longs to destroy himself ((c50-65 AD) Seneca, Mad Hercules, tr. E. I. Harris, Act 5, Sc. 1 and 3)	76
	Elizabethan/Jacobean
29	The Spanish General narrates a tale of battle victory ((c1587; 1602) Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy, Act 1, Sc. 2)	82
30	Hieronymo discovers the body of his murdered son ((c1587; 1602) Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy, Act 2, Sc. 5)	85
31	Mad Hieronymo considers: "What is a son?" ((c1587; 1602) Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy, Act 3, Sc. 11)	88
32	Mad Hieronymo directs a painter to paint a murder ((c1587; 1602) Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy, Act 3, Sc. 12a)	91
33	Mad Hieronymo mistakes a suppliant for his dead son ((c1587; 1602) Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy, Act 3, Sc. 13)	94
34	Hieronymo brings the play-within-the-play to its gruesome end ((c1587; 1602) Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy, Act 4, Sc. 4)	97
35	Sejanus commits himself to a sanguine and limitless revenge ((1603) Ben Jonson, Sejanus, Act 2, Sc. 2)	101
36	Sejanus plans the secret assumption of Caesar's authority ((1603) Ben Jonson, Sejanus, Act 3, Sc. 2)	103
37	De Flores, suffering the contempt of his beloved Beatrice, bides his time ((1622) Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, The Changeling, Act 2, Sc. 1)	105
38	De Flores wins his whole recompense from Beatrice ((1622) Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, The Changeling, Act 3, Sc. 4)	108
39	Friar Bonaventura condemns Giovanni and urges penitence for his thought of incest ((1629-33) John Ford, 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore, Act 1, Scene 1)	112
	XVII Century French
40	The father of Rodrigue determines to be revenged ((1638) Pierre Corneille, Le Cid, tr. Paul Landis, Act 1, Sc. 4)	116
41	The emporer Augustus ruminates on the futility of power ((1640) Pierre Corneille, Cinna, tr. Paul Landis, Act 2, Sc. 1)	117
42	The emperor Augustus undergoes his dark night of the soul ((1640) Pierre Corneille, Cinna, tr. Paul Landis, Act 4, Sc. 2)	121
43	The emperor Augustus reasons with his would-be assassin ((1640) Pierre Corneille, Cinna, tr. Paul Landis, Act 5, Sc. 1)	124
44	Theseus accuses his son of adultery ((1677) Jean Racine, Phaedra, tr. R. Henderson, Act 4)	127
	Restoration
45	Samson, in torment, yearns for his death ((1668-70) John Milton, Samson Agonistes, Lines 606-651)	132
46	Milton's tragic conclusion: "Calm of mind, all passion spent" ((1668-70) John Milton, Samson Agonistes, Lines 1708-1758)	136
47	Antony mourns his fallen state ((1671) John Dryden, All for Love, Act 1, Sc. 1)	139
48	Antony accuses Cleopatra of being the instrument of his downfall ((1671) John Dryden, All for Love, Act 2, Sc. 1)	141
49	The Great Constable explains the folly of virtue to his son, his prisoner ((1679) John Crowne, The Ambitious Statesman, Act 5, Sc. 1)	144
50	Aboan, Oroonoko's loyal follower, rouses him to rebellion against the English ((1695) Thomas Southerne, Oroonoko, Act 3, Sc. 2)	146
	XVIII Century English/German
51	Cato contemplates the allurement of immortality ((1713) Joseph Addison, Cato, Act 5, Sc. 1)	152
52	Thorowgood catechizes the blessings of commerce ((1731) George Lillo, The London Merchant, Act 3, Sc. 1)	155
53	Wallenstein inveighs against chance, not his own will, governing his acts ((1799) Friedrich Schiller, Wallenstein's Death, tr. Jeanne Wilson, Act 1, Sc. 4)	157
54	Wallenstein interprets a dream as a predestined savior of his life ((1799) Friedrich Schiller, Wallenstein's Death, tr. Jeanne Wilson, Act 2, Sc. 3)	161
	XIX Century French/German
55	An Old Man brings news of death to a family, and wonders how to approach them ((1896) Maurice Maeterlinck, Home, tr. Richard Hovey, 1-act)	166
56	Cyrano defends his nose against insult, and runs the insulting culprit through ((1897) Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac, tr. Brian Hooker, Act 1)	169
57	Cyrano brags of his credo: To bend the knee to no one ((1897) Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac, tr. Brian Hooker, Act 2)	174
58	Cyrano, tottering but upright, sword drawn, meets death ((1897) Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac, tr. Brian Hooker, Act 5)	177
59	Robespierre concludes: In himself "the Son of Man is crucifed" ((1835) Georg Buchner, Danton's Death, tr. C. R. Mueller, Act I, Sc. 6)	181
60	Danton, bored and disenchanted, delays from arrest ((1835) Georg Buchner, Danton's Death, tr. C. R. Mueller, Act 2, Sc. 1)	184
61	Danton reconciles himself to despair and to imminent death ((1835) Georg Buchner, Danton's Death, tr. C. R. Mueller, Act 4, Sc. 1)	187
	XIX/XX Century English
62	Cenci cries curses on Beatrice and prays for her destruction ((1819) Percy Shelley, The Cenci, Act 4, Sc. 1)	190
63	Virginius, having killed his daughter to prevent her enslavement and ruin, runs mad and searches for her ((1820) Amos Sheridan Knowles, Virginius, Act 5, Sc. 3)	193
64	Luke explains the justification for his revenge: his wife's death by starvation ((1826) John Baldwin Buckston, Luke the Laborer, Act 1, Sc. 2)	197
65	The Duke of Ferrara explains to a visitor the smile on his late duchess's face ((1842) Robert Browning, My Last Duchess)	199
66	Mathias, having successfully concealed his theft and murder for years, is troubled only by the sound of bells ((1871) Leopold Lewis, The Bells, Act 2)	202
67	Mathias, in nightmare, dreams he is under hypnosis, and overcome by his own confession of murderous guilt, dies ((1871) Leopold Lewis, The Bells, Act 3)	205
68	Jokanaan cries abomination on Herod, Herodias, and their daughter Salome ((1893) Oscar Wilde, Salome)	209
69	Herod offers Salome any treasure to relieve him of his oath to grant her the head of Jokanaan ((1893) Oscar Wilde, Salome)	212
70	Sherlock Holmes, while enjoying his seven-percent solution, anticipates the arrest and demise of Moriarty ((1899) William H. Gillette, Sherlock Holmes, Act 2, Sc. 2)	214
71	Mr. O'Connell, a Catholic of conscience, is asked for political reasons not to denounce his wife's adulterer ((1907) Harley Granville Barker, Waste, Act 3)	218
	Comedy
	Greek
72	Dicaeopolis speaks his mind about the stupid reasons for the current war ((425 BC) Aritophanes, The Acharnians, tr. Jack Flavin)	224
73	Aristophanes argues the case for his comedy's winning first prize ((421 BC) Aristophanes, Peace, tr. Fred Beake)	227
74	Mnesilochus, in drag at the women's festival, defends his nephew Euripides' attacks on women ((411 BC) Aristophanes, Thesmaphoriazusae, tr. Anonymous)	230
75	Blepyrus, needing to take a crap in the dead of night, has no choice but to wear his wife's clothing ((392 BC) Aristophanes, Ecclesiazusae, tr. Anonymous)	233
	Italian Renaissance
76	Fra Timoteo persuades Lucrezia that it is pious to commit adultery ((c1515-20) Machiavelli, Mandragola, tr. Kenneth and Laura Richards, Act 3, Sc. 11)	236
	Elizabethan/Jacobean
77	Simon Eyre prepares a feast for his king ((1599) Thomas Dekker, The Shoemaker's Holiday, Act 5, Sc. 4)	240
78	Captain Seagull peddles the glories of Virginia to dupes ((1604) Marston, Chapman, and Jonson, Eastward Ho!, Act 3, Sc. 3)	242
79	Touchstone reveals the sins of the shipwrecked to the constable ((1604) Marston, Chapman, and Jonson, Eastward Ho!, Act 4, Sc. 2)	244
80	Volpone welcomes the morning sun and his gold ((1606) Ben Jonson, Volpone, Act I, Sc. 1)	246
81	Volpone, disguised as a mountebank, hawks quack remedies ((1606) Ben Johnson, Volpone, Act 2, Sc. 1)	248
82	Morose, who can bear no noise, instructs his servant mute ((1609) Ben Johnson, Epicoene, or The Silent Woman, Act 2, Sc. 1)	251
83	Morose interviews a potentially silent wife ((1609) Ben Johnson, Epicoene, or The Silent Woman, Act 2, Sc. 5)	255
84	Sir Epicure Mammon prepares for projection's success ((1610) Ben Johnson, The Alchemist, Act 2, Sc. 2)	258
85	Allwit congratulates himself on the ease and profit of his cuckold's life ((1612) Thomas Middleton, A Chaste Maid of Cheapside, Act 1, Sc. 2)	261
86	Overreach tutors his daughter in marital entrapment ((1621-22) Philip Massinger, A New Way To Pay Old Debts, Act 3, Sc. 2)	264
	XVII Century French
87	Arnolphe explains his procedure for raising a perfect wife in perfect ignorance ((1662) Jean-Baptiste Moliere, The School for Wives, tr. Morris Bishop, Act 1, Sc. 1)	268
88	Don Juan's father condemns his son for shaming his heritage ((1665) Jean-Baptiste Moliere, Don Juan, tr. G. Graveley and I. Maclean, Act 4, Sc. 6)	270
89	Harpagon, fearing his treasure stolen, runs mad ((1668) Jean-Baptiste Moliere, The Miser, tr. G. Graveley and I. Maclean, Act 4, Sc. 7)	272
	Restoration
90	Pinchwife apprehends his wife authoring a letter of her own invention ((1675) William Wycherley, The Country Wife, Act 4)	276
91	Sir Feeble, with the help of his man Francis (his rival in disguise), readies for bedtime with his new bride ((1686) Aphra Behn, The Lucky Chance, Act 3. Sc. 1)	278
92	Jupiter, bidding farewell to Alcmene after their night of love, claims a higher place in her esteem than "husband" ((1690) John Dryden, Amphitryon, Act 2, Sc. 1)	281
93	Jupiter, out of the machine, makes all things clear ((1690) John Dryden, Amphitryon, Act 5, Sc. 1)	284
94	Fondlewife, while warning his wife of adultery, is melted by her tears ((1693) William Congreve, The Old Bachelor, Act 4, passage excerpted from Scs. 2, 3, 4)	286
95	Coupler the Matchmaker dreams up a scheme to get one brother wealthily wived at the expense of the other ((1696) John Vanbrugh, The Relapse, Act 1, Sc. 3)	288
	XVIII Century English
96	Sable the Undertaker rehearses his regular mourners for the coming funeral ((1701) Richard Steele, The Funeral, Act 1, Sc. 1)	292
97	Puzzle the Attorneys explains the profit for lawyers of professional ofuscation and tautology ((1701) Richard Steele, The Funeral, Act 1, Sc. 2)	295
98	Sir Jealous Traffic, devoted to Spanish custom, confines his daughter to Spanish honor's constraints ((1709) Susannah Centlivre, The Busybody, Act 2, Sc. 2)	297
99	The merchant Sealand boldly counters Sir John's claims of aristocracy's privileged morality ((1722) Richard Steele, The Conscious Lovers, Act 4, Sc. 2)	299
100	Peachum considers which of his henchmen he will betray today for execution ((1728) John Gay, The Beggar's Opera, Act 1, Sc. 3)	302
101	Peachum warns against the evil of marriage ((1728) John Gay, The Beggar's Opera, Act 1, Sc. 4)	304
102	Macheath welcomes his ladies to the tavern with song ((1728) John Gay, The Beggar's Opera, Act 2, Sc. 4)	306
103	Sir Simon, after overhearing his wife's seducer's pleading, considers the fate of husbands ((1735) Henry Fielding, The Universal Gallant, Act 5)	308
104	Trapwit directs his actors and explains the play ((1736) Henry Fielding, Pasquin, Act 2, Sc. 1)	310
105	Fustian recites his play's dedication for the edification of his friends ((1736) Henry Fielding, Pasquin, Act 3, Sc. 1)	312
106	Fustian catalogues the miseries of the playwright ((1736) Henry Fielding, Pasquin, Act 4, Sc. 1)	314
107	Knowell notes how the greatest corrupters of children are their parents ((1751) Ben Jonson, Everyman in His Humour, ad. David Garrick, Act 2, Sc. 2)	315
108	Captain Bobadill explains how, with twenty men trained by himself, he could eradicate an army of forty thousand ((1751) Ben Jonson, Everyman in His Humour, ad. David Garrick, Act 4, Sc. 2)	318
109	Don John, mortified, finds himself saddled with a crying baby ((1754) Beaumont and Fletcher, The Chances, ad. David Garrick, Act 1, Sc. 5)	320
110	Sir Anthony Absolute, in a violent passion, demands his son marry as he commands, or else ((1775) Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The Rivals, Act 2, Sc. 1)	323
111	Sir Peter tries to fathom why his wife, always in the wrong, quarrels with him ((1777) Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, Act 1, Sc. 2)	325
112	Censor is censorious against Mrs. Voluble's discourse ((1779) Francis Burney, The Witlings, Act 1, Sc. 1)	327
113	Dabbler the Poet is lost in the throes of composition ((1779) Francis Burney, The Witlings, Act 3, Sc. 1)	329
	XIX Century German/Scandinavian
114	Straamand, the village pastor, defends his "barnyard fowl's" life against the poet Falk's "soaring eagle" ((1862) Henrid Ibsen, Love's Comedy, tr. M. Zelenak and L. Katz, Act 3)	334
115	Gulstad, who offers ordinary marriage, contends with Falk's passionate offer of the extraordinary ((1862) Henrik Ibsen, Love's Comedy, tr. M. Zelenak and L. Katz, Act 3)	336
116	Peer Gynt peels an onion which sums up his life ((1867) Henrik Ibsen, Peer Gynt, tr. Wm. Archer, Act 5, Sc. 5)	340
	XIX/XX Century English
117	Sir Robert Chiltern confesses to the youthful crime that has given him his wealth and position ((1895) Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband, Act 2)	346
118	Julius Caesar reads the riddle of the sphinx ((1899) Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, Act 1)	348
119	Shaw, through the mouth of young Aubrey, mourns the unhinging of Western Civilization's values following the First World War ((1932) Bernard Shaw, Too True To Be Good, Act 3)	350
	Glossary of Greek and Roman Names	355