🎭 15 Classical Monologues for Teens

Choosing a classical monologue can feel intimidating—old-fashioned language, historical settings, and complex emotions all rolled into one. But the right speech can unlock your creativity and show off your acting range. Here are 15 classical monologues for teens, blending Shakespeare’s timeless roles with other classical playwrights (pre‑1900) like Shaw, Wilde, and Chekhov. And even a bit of the Ancient Greeks! Each pick includes a quick overview of the context, insight into the character, and why it makes a strong audition or practice piece.

1. Juliet Capulet in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

"The clock struck nine when I did send the nurse;

In half an hour she promised to return.

Perchance she cannot meet him: that's not so.

O, she is lame! love's heralds should be thoughts,

Which ten times faster glide than the sun's beams,

Driving back shadows over louring hills:

Therefore do nimble-pinion'd doves draw love,

And therefore hath the wind-swift Cupid wings.

Now is the sun upon the highmost hill

Of this day's journey, and from nine till twelve

Is three long hours, yet she is not come.

Had she affections and warm youthful blood,

She would be as swift in motion as a ball;

My words would bandy her to my sweet love,

And his to me:

But old folks, many feign as they were dead;

Unwieldy, slow, heavy and pale as lead."
[Act 2, Scene 5]

Context: Juliet, impatiently waiting for news from Romeo, reveals her youthful passion and impatience.

Why it works: Perfect for younger teens, this speech combines romantic excitement with a natural rhythm. It’s emotional but not too complex, making it an accessible first dive into classical text.

2. Louka in Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw

"How easy it is to talk! Men never seem to me to grow up: they all have schoolboy's ideas. You don't know what true courage is.

[...]

Look at me! how much am I allowed to have my own will? I have to get your room ready for you --- to sweep and dust, to fetch and carry. How could that degrade me if it did not degrade you to have it done for you? But (with subdued passion) if I were Empress of Russia, above everyone in the world, then --- ah, then, though according to you I could shew no courage at all; you should see, you should see.

[...]

I would marry the man I loved, which no other queen in Europe has the courage to do. If I loved you, though you would be as far beneath me as I am beneath you, I would dare to be the equal of my inferior. Would you dare as much if you loved me? No: if you felt the beginnings of love for me you would not let it grow. You dare not: you would marry a rich man's daughter because you would be afraid of what other people would say of you."
[Act 3]

Context: Louka, a proud servant, confronts Sergius, challenging class boundaries and asserting her independence.

Why it works: Great for older teens with fiery energy. It’s more modern than Shakespeare but still “classical,” with themes of love, pride, and social defiance that resonate strongly with young performers.

3. Rosalind in As You Like It by William Shakespeare

"And why, I pray you? Who might be your mother,

That you insult, exult, and all at once,

Over the wretched? What though you have no beauty,--

As by my faith, I see no more in you

Than without candle may go dark to bed,--

Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?

Why, what means this? Why do you look on me?

I see no more in you than in the ordinary

Of nature's sale-work. Od's my little life!

I think she means to tangle my eyes too.

No, faith, proud mistress, hope not after it:

'Tis not your inky brows, your black silk hair,

Your bugle eyeballs, nor your cheek of cream,

That can entame my spirits to your worship.

You foolish shepherd, wherefore do you follow her,

Like foggy south puffing with wind and rain?

You are a thousand times a properer man

Than she a woman: 'tis such fools as you

That make the world full of ill-favour'd children:

'Tis not her glass, but you, that flatters her;

And out of you she sees herself more proper

Than any of her lineaments can show her.

But, mistress, know yourself: down on your knees,

And thank heaven, fasting, for a good man's love:

For I must tell you friendly in your ear,

Sell when you can; you are not for all markets.

Cry the man mercy; love him; take his offer:

Foul is most foul, being foul to be a scoffer.

So take her to thee, shepherd. Fare you well."
[Act 3, Scene 5]

Context: Disguised as a boy, Rosalind has just witnessed Phoebe scorning Silvius, a shepherd who is madly in love with her. Rosalind is incredulous at Phoebe’s unfairness and isn't afraid to tell her so!

Why it works: Smart, witty, and full of charisma—ideal for teens who want to show comic timing, quick thinking, and lots of spirit.

4. Hester Worsley in A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde

"We are trying to build up life, Lady Hunstanton, on a better, truer, purer basis than life rests on here. This sounds strange to you all, no doubt. How could it sound other than strange? You rich people in England, you don’t know how you are living. How could you know? You shut out from your society the gentle and the good. You laugh at the simple and the pure. Living, as you all do, on others and by them, you sneer at self-sacrifice, and if you throw bread to the poor, it is merely to keep them quiet for a season. With all your pomp and wealth and art you don’t know how to live—you don’t even know that. You love the beauty that you can see and touch and handle, the beauty that you can destroy, and do destroy, but of the unseen beauty of life, of the unseen beauty of a higher life, you know nothing. You have lost life’s secret. Oh, your English society seems to me shallow, selfish, foolish. It has blinded its eyes, and stopped its ears. It lies like a leper in purple. It sits like a dead thing smeared with gold. It is all wrong, all wrong."
[Act 2]

Context: Hester is an American puritan in a room full of upper class English ladies. She is quick to point out the faults and hypocrises within the English upper class, although she does not cross the line into becoming overly rude.

Why it works: A bold choice for an older teen who is confident performing in an American accent. Hester is eighteen and naive in the ways of the world, quickly revealing her haughty and snobbish tendencies.

5. Orlando de Bois in As You Like It by William Shakespeare

"As I remember, Adam, it was upon this fashion

bequeathed me by will but poor a thousand crowns,

and, as thou sayest, charged my brother, on his

blessing, to breed me well: and there begins my

sadness. My brother Jaques he keeps at school, and

report speaks goldenly of his profit: for my part,

he keeps me rustically at home, or, to speak more

properly, stays me here at home unkept; for call you

that keeping for a gentleman of my birth, that

differs not from the stalling of an ox? His horses

are bred better; for, besides that they are fair

with their feeding, they are taught their manage,

and to that end riders dearly hired: but I, his

brother, gain nothing under him but growth; for the

which his animals on his dunghills are as much

bound to him as I. Besides this nothing that he so

plentifully gives me, the something that nature gave

me his countenance seems to take from me: he lets

me feed with his hinds, bars me the place of a

brother, and, as much as in him lies, mines my

gentility with my education. This is it, Adam, that

grieves me; and the spirit of my father, which I

think is within me, begins to mutiny against this

servitude: I will no longer endure it, though yet I

know no wise remedy how to avoid it."
[Act 1, Scene 1]

Context: Orlando reflects on his lack of fortune or prosperous future while confiding in his servant Adam, blending sincerity with sadness at his older brother's behavior following their father’s death.

Why it works: A heartfelt option for a teen boy with room for genuine emotional expression.

6. Gwendolyn Fairfax in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

"Oh! It is strange he never mentioned to me that he had a ward. How secretive of him! He grows more interesting hourly. I am not sure, however, that the news inspires me with feelings of unmixed delight. [Rising and going to her.] I am very fond of you, Cecily; I have liked you ever since I met you! But I am bound to state that now that I know that you are Mr. Worthing’s ward, I cannot help expressing a wish you were—well, just a little older than you seem to be—and not quite so very alluring in appearance. In fact, if I may speak candidly— [...] Well, to speak with perfect candour, Cecily, I wish that you were fully forty-two, and more than usually plain for your age. Ernest has a strong upright nature. He is the very soul of truth and honour. Disloyalty would be as impossible to him as deception. But even men of the noblest possible moral character are extremely susceptible to the influence of the physical charms of others. Modern, no less than Ancient History, supplies us with many most painful examples of what I refer to. If it were not so, indeed, History would be quite unreadable."
[Act 2]

Context: Gwendolen has come to her fiance's house, expecting to find him there. Instead, she finds Cecily, Jack Worthing's ward. Gwendolen is immediately thrown upon meeting Cecily because she is so young and attractive.

Why it works: Great for an older teen (Gwendolen is typically in her early 20s), this is perfect for an actress with incredible comic instincts along with fantastic facility for language.

7. Cordelia in King Lear by William Shakespeare

"Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave

My heart into my mouth. I love your Majesty

According to my bond; no more nor less.

Good my lord,

You have begot me, bred me, lov'd me; I

Return those duties back as are right fit,

Obey you, love you, and most honour you.

Why have my sisters husbands, if they say

They love you all? Haply, when I shall wed,

That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry

Half my love with him, half my care and duty.

Sure I shall never marry like my sisters,

To love my father all."
[Act 1, Scene 1]

Context: After refusing to play her father’s game and publicly profess her love for him, Cordelia reveals her dignity and unwavering honesty.

Why it works: Ideal for a thoughtful, mature teen—full of quiet strength and moral clarity rather than dramatic outbursts.

8. Anya in The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov

"Mother! mother, are you crying? My dear, kind, good mother, my beautiful mother, I love you! Bless you! The cherry orchard is sold, we’ve got it no longer, it’s true, true, but don’t cry mother, you’ve still got your life before you, you’ve still your beautiful pure soul... Come with me, come, dear, away from here, come! We’ll plant a new garden, finer than this, and you’ll see it, and you’ll understand, and deep joy, gentle joy will sink into your soul, like the evening sun, and you’ll smile, mother! Come, dear, let’s go!"
[Act 3]

Context: Even as her family loses their beloved estate, Anya clings to hope and optimism for the future.

Why it works: A reflective, sensitive piece for teens who want to show quiet emotional depth rather than big theatrical gestures.

9. Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

"If we shadows have offended,

Think but this, and all is mended,

That you have but slumber'd here

While 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 luck

Now 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."
[Epilogue]

[Context](/monologues/196): At the play’s end, Puck directly addresses the audience, asking forgiveness for the magical chaos.

Why it works: Fun, short, and charming—perfect for younger teens or anyone wanting a lighthearted, audience-friendly piece.

10. Young Clifford in Henry VI, Part 2 by William Shakespeare

"Shame and confusion! All is on the rout.

Fear frames disorder, and disorder wounds

Where it should guard. O war, thou son of hell,

Whom angry heavens do make their minister,

Throw in the frozen bosoms of our part

Hot coals of vengeance! Let no soldier fly.

He that is truly dedicate to war

Hath no self-love; nor he that loves himself

Hath not essentially, but by circumstance,

The name of valor.

(He sees his father, lying dead.)

O, let the vile world end

And the premised flames of the last day

Knit Earth and heaven together!

Now let the general trumpet blow his blast,

Particularities and petty sounds

To cease! Wast thou ordained, dear father,

To lose thy youth in peace, and to achieve

The silver livery of advisèd age,

And, in thy reverence and thy chair-days, thus

To die in ruffian battle? Even at this sight

My heart is turned to stone, and while 'tis mine,

It shall be stony. York not our old men spares;

No more will I their babes. Tears virginal

Shall be to me even as the dew to fire;

And beauty, that the tyrant oft reclaims,

Shall to my flaming wrath be oil and flax.

Henceforth I will not have to do with pity.

Meet I an infant of the house of York,

Into as many gobbets will I cut it

As wild Medea young Absyrtis did.

In cruelty will I seek out my fame.

(He takes his father's body onto his back.)

Come, thou new ruin of old Clifford's house;

As did Aeneas old Anchises bear,

So bear I thee upon my manly shoulders.

But then Aeneas bare a living load,

Nothing so heavy as these woes of mine."
[Act 5, Scene 2]

Context: A young noble laments the death of his father in the Wars of the Roses, torn between duty and despair.

Why it works: Ideal for a teen exploring intense dramatic stakes and historical context. Offers bold emotion in a brief passage.

11. Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare

"Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie

Which we ascribe to heaven. The fated sky

Gives us free scope, only doth backward pull

Our slow designs when we ourselves are dull.

What power is it which mounts my love so high,

That makes me see, and cannot feed mine eye?

The mightiest space in fortune nature brings

To join like likes and kiss like native things.

Impossible be strange attempts to those

That weigh their pains in sense and do suppose

What hath been cannot be. Who ever strove

To show her merit that did miss her love?

The King's disease---my project may deceive me,

But my intents are fixed and will not leave me."

Context: Helena is full of grief--both for her late father and for Bertram, the man she adores but can never marry. She wonders aloud what she can possibly do to prove that she's worthy of Bertram's love.

Why it works: Great for a reflective teen actor. It’s gentle, heartfelt, and uplifting—perfect for someone who prefers calm introspection over high drama.

12. Miranda in The Tempest by William Shakespeare

"If by your art, my dearest father, you have

Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.

The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,

But that the sea, mounting to the welkin's cheek,

Dashes the fire out. O, I have suffered

With those that I saw suffer: a brave vessel,

Who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her,

Dash'd all to pieces. O, the cry did knock

Against my very heart. Poor souls, they perish'd.

Had I been any god of power, I would

Have sunk the sea within the earth or ere

It should the good ship so have swallow'd and

The fraughting souls within her."
[Act 1, Scene 2]

Context: Miranda, Prospero’s young daughter, witnesses the havoc her father is wreaking with his magic upon a ship and its passengers, and begs him to put an end to it.

Why it works: Heartfelt and innocent, making it a lovely option for younger teens who want to portray sincerity with raw emotion.

13. Parolles in All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare

"Are you meditating on virginity?

[...]

Virginity being blown down, man will quicklier be

blown up: marry, in blowing him down again, with

the breach yourselves made, you lose your city. It

is not politic in the commonwealth of nature to

preserve virginity. Loss of virginity is rational

increase and there was never virgin got till

virginity was first lost. That you were made of is

metal to make virgins. Virginity by being once lost

may be ten times found; by being ever kept, it is

ever lost: 'tis too cold a companion; away with 't!

[...]

There's little can be said in 't; 'tis against the

rule of nature. To speak on the part of virginity,

is to accuse your mothers; which is most infallible

disobedience. He that hangs himself is a virgin:

virginity murders itself and should be buried in

highways out of all sanctified limit, as a desperate

offendress against nature. Virginity breeds mites,

much like a cheese; consumes itself to the very

paring, and so dies with feeding his own stomach.

Besides, virginity is peevish, proud, idle, made of

self-love, which is the most inhibited sin in the

canon. Keep it not; you cannot choose but loose

by't: out with 't! within ten year it will make

itself ten, which is a goodly increase; and the

principal itself not much the worse: away with 't!"
[Act 1, Scene 1]

Context: Parolles humorously undermines ideals of chastity in front of Helena, oblivious to the fact that Helena despises him and dislikes their topic of conversation.

Why it works: A comedic monologue with swagger—perfect for a mature, older teen who wants to show off their wit with a decidedly seedy edge!

14. Cassandra in The Trojan Women by Euripides

"O mother, crown my head with victor's wreaths; rejoice in my royal match; lead me to my lord; nay, if thou find me loth at all, thrust me there by force; for if Loxias be indeed a prophet, Agamemnon, that famous king of the Achaeans, will find in me a bride more fraught with woe to him than Helen. For I will slay him and lay waste his home to avenge my father's and my bretheren's death. But of the deed itself I will not speak; nor will I tell of that axe which shall sever my neck and the necks of others, or of the conflict ending in a mother's death, which my marriage shall cause, nor of the overthrow of Atreus' house; but I, for all my frenzy, will so far rise above my frantic fit, that I will prove this city happier far than those Achaeans, who for the sake of one woman and one man's love of her have lost a countless host in seeking Helen. Their captain too, whom men call wise, hath lost for what he hated most what most he prized, yielding to his brother for a woman's sake-and she a willing prize whom no man forced-the joy he had of his own children in his home. For from the day that they did land upon Scamander's strand, their doom began, not for loss of stolen frontier nor yet for fatherland with frowning towers; whomso Ares slew, those never saw their babes again, nor were they shrouded for the tomb by hand of wife, but in a foreign land they lie. At home the case was still the same; wives were dying widows, parents were left childless in their homes, having reared their sons for others, and none is left to make libations of blood upon the ground before their tombs. Truly to such praise as this their host can make an ample claim. Tis better to pass their shame in silence by, nor be mine the Muse to tell that evil tale. But the Trojans were dying, first for their fatherland, fairest fame to win; whomso the sword laid low, all these found friends to bear their bodies home and were laid to rest in the bosom of their native land, their funeral rites all duly paid by duteous hands. And all such Phrygians as escaped the warrior's death lived ever day by day with wife and children by them-joys the Achaeans had left behind. As for Hector and his griefs, prithee hear how stands the case; he is dead and gone, but still his fame remains as bravest of the brave, and this was a result of the Achaeans' coming; for had they remained at home, his worth would have gone unnoticed. So too with Paris, he married the daughter of Zeus, whereas, had he never done so, the alliance he made in his family would have been forgotten. Whoso is wise should fly from making war; but if he be brought to this pass, a noble death will crown his city with glory, a coward's end with shame. Wherefore, mother mine, thou shouldst not pity thy country or my spousal, for this my marriage will destroy those whom thou and I most hate."
[Act 1]

Context: Troy has fallen after a lengthy battle against the Greeks. With their city sacked, the women must face their fate at the hands of the Greek warriors. Cassandra accepts the marriage forced upon her, but vows to have her revenge.

Why it works: Delivered with determination and grit, this is a great choice for teens to showcase a complex and emotionally charged performance.

15. Cassandra in Agamemnon by Aeschylus

"Ah, ah the fire! it waxes, nears me now--

Woe, woe for me, Apollo of the dawn!

Lo, how the woman-thing, the lioness

Couched with the wolf--her noble mate afar--

Will slay me, slave forlorn! Yea, like some witch,

She drugs the cup of wrath, that slays her lord,

With double death--his recompense for me!

Ay, 'tis for me, the prey he bore from Troy,

That she hath sworn his death, and edged the steel!

Ye wands, ye wreaths that cling around my neck,

Ye showed me prophetess yet scorned of all--

I stamp you into death, or e'er I die--

Down, to destruction! Thus I stand revenged--

Go, crown some other with a prophet's woe.

Lookl it is he, it is Apollo's self

Rending from me the prophet-robe he gave.

God! while I wore it yet, thou saw'st me mocked

There at my home by each malicious mouth--

To all and each, an undivided scorn.

The name alike and fate of witch and cheat--

Woe, poverty, and famine--all I bore;

And at this last the god hath brought me here

Into death's toils, and what his love had made,

His hate unmakes me now: and I shall stand

Not now before the altar of my home,

But me a slaughter-house and block of blood

Shall see hewn down, a reeking sacrifice.

Yet shall the gods have heed of me who die,

For by their will shall one requite my doom.

He, to avenge his father's blood outpoured,

Shall smite and slay with matricidal hand.

Ay, he shall come--tho' far away he roam,

A banished wanderer in a stranger's land--

To crown his kindred's edifice of ill,

Called home to vengeance by his father's fall:

Thus have the high gods sworn, and shall fulfil.

And now why mourn I, tarrying on earth,

Since first mine Ilion has found its fate

And I beheld, and those who won the wall

Pass to such issue as the gods ordain?

I too will pass and like them dare to die! (She turns and looks upon

the palace door.) Portal of Hades, thus I bid thee hail!

Grant me one boon--a swift and mortal stroke,

That all unwrung by pain, with ebbing blood

Shed forth in quiet death, I close mine eyes."
[Act 1]

Context: Cassandra has seen a vision of Agamemnon’s death at the hand of Clytemnestra, his wife. And now she sees her own death. Rather than run, Cassandra decides to face her fate.

Why it works: It’s a double whammy of Cassandra choices…but in different plays! This monologue offers another option to explore the complexities of Cassandra’s tragic circumstances and the decisions she makes. Or try working on both monologues in succession - before she leaves for Argos and after.

Why These Monologues Work for Teens

• Age-appropriate emotions: All 15 reflect youthful energy—impatience, naivety, hope, romantic longing, or a fight for independence.
• Balance of tone: There’s a mix of comedy, romance, introspection, and tragedy, letting you choose what best shows your range.
• Variety of styles: Shakespeare’s verse sits alongside Ancient Greek texts and also more modern realism from Shaw, Wilde, and Chekhov, giving you classical breadth.

How to Approach Your Classical Monologue

• Read the whole play to understand your character’s journey.
• Work on clarity—make sure the audience understands every word.
• Connect personally with the text—find emotions you can relate to.
• Play with rhythm and pacing, especially with Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter.
• Balance emotion with restraint—classical characters often feel deeply but express it with poise.

✨ Final Thoughts

Classical monologues for teens aren’t just about “old-fashioned” language—they’re about universal human emotions. From Juliet’s excitement to Rosalind’s incredulity, from Puck’s charm to Cassandra’s despair, these 15 monologues give you rich material to explore love, hope, grief, and courage on stage.

Pick one comedic and one dramatic piece, dive into the world of the play, and make it your own. Break a leg!