Nothing but Roaring

Hastily-memorized monologues from all 36 or so of Shakespeare's plays.

[nothingbutroaring]

Cry woe, destruction, ruin, loss, decay: The worst is death, and death will have his day.

Richard II, Act III Scene II

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Richard II, Act III Scene II

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Have I not here the best cards for the game, To win this easy match play'd for a crown?

King John, Act V Scene II

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King John, Act V Scene II

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We came into the world like brother and brother, And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another.

The Comedy of Errors, Act V Scene I

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The Comedy of Errors, Act III Scene II

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…but we worldly men Have miserable, mad, mistaking eyes.

Titus Andronicus, Act V Scene II

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Titus Andronicus, Act V Scene I

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'Tis well, 'tis well; no more. Be not as extreme in submission as in offence.

The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act IV Scene IV

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The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act I Scene III

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“– She hath more hair than wit, and more faults than hairs, and more wealth than faults. – Stop there. I’ll have her. She was mine and not mine twice or thrice in that last article.

Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act III Scene I

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Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act II Scene III

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Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel which smoked with bloody execution, like valour's minion carved out his passage…

Macbeth, Act I Scene II

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Macbeth, Act V Scene V

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Dramatis Persona

This blog will track a simple, but long-neglected personal goal – To memorize and perform a single monologue from each of Shakespeare’s plays.  

My reading order will be loosely chronological, with a few exceptions.

• Exception the first! I will start with Macbeth because I’ve never read it and it’s my blog so there. • Exception the second! I will read the histories in timeline order. • Exception the third! I’ll mix those histories in with the comedies and tragedies, because who the heck can remember all those battles if you read them together? • Exception the fourth! I’m cherrypicking which plays I’m considering canonical, but am sticking to a pretty tame interpretation thereof.

So, with that settled, our order is thus:

1. Macbeth (1606) 2. The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1589–1591) 3. The Taming of the Shrew (1590–1591) 4. Titus Andronicus (1591–1592) 5. The Comedy of Errors (1594) 5. King John (1596) 7. Richard II (1595) 8. Love's Labour's Lost (1594–1595) 9. Romeo and Juliet (1595) 10. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595) 11. The Merchant of Venice (1596–1597) 12. The Merry Wives of Windsor (1597) 13. Henry IV, Part 1  (1596–1597) 14. Henry IV, Part 2 (1597–1598) 15. Much Ado About Nothing (1598–1599) 16. Julius Caesar (1599) 17. As You Like It (1599–1600) 18. Hamlet (1599–1601) 19. Henry V (1599) 20. Twelfth Night (1601) 21. Troilus and Cressida (1600–1602) 22. Measure for Measure (1603–1604) 23. Othello (1603–1604) 24. Henry VI, Part 1 (1591–1592) 25. Henry VI, Part 2 (1591) 26. Henry VI, Part 3 (1591) 27. All's Well That Ends Well (1604–1605) 28. King Lear (1605–1606) 29. Timon of Athens (1605–1606) 30. Antony and Cleopatra (1606) 31. Richard III (1592–1593) 32. Henry VIII (1612–1613) 33. Coriolanus (1608) 34. The Winter's Tale (1609–1611) 35. Cymbeline (1610) 36. The Tempest (1610–1611)

Let’s get started, shall we?

[nothingbutroaring]

You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act I Scene II