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Measure for Measure

Ay, but to die, and go we know not where...

Overview

Character
Gender
Male
Playing Age
Late Teen, Young Adult, Adult
Style
Dramatic
Act/Scene
Act 3, Scene 1
Time & Place
A dark, damp prison cell in Vienna on the eve of a scheduled execution.
Length
Medium
Time Period
Classical
Show Type
Play
Age Guidance
Thirteen Plus (PG-13)

Context

Text

Ay, but to die, and go we know not where;

To lie in cold obstruction and to rot;

This sensible warm motion to become

A kneaded clod; and the delighted spirit

To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside

In thrilling region of thick-ribbed ice;

To be imprison'd in the viewless winds,

And blown with restless violence round about

The pendent world; or to be worse than worst

Of those that lawless and incertain thought

Imagine howling: 'tis too horrible!

The weariest and most loathed worldly life

That age, ache, penury and imprisonment

Can lay on nature is a paradise

To what we fear of death.

Performance Tips

Emotional Beat Breakdown

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