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Richard III

Bear with me; I am hungry for revenge,...

Overview

Gender
Female
Playing Age
Mature Adult, Elderly
Style
Dramatic
Act/Scene
Act 4 Scene 4
Time & Place
The monologue takes place outside the royal palace in London amidst the mourning of the Yorkist women.
Length
Medium
Time Period
Classical
Show Type
Play
Age Guidance
Thirteen Plus (PG-13)

Context

Text

Bear with me; I am hungry for revenge,

And now I cloy me with beholding it.

Thy Edward he is dead, that stabb'd my Edward:

Thy other Edward dead, to quit my Edward;

Young York he is but boot, because both they

Match not the high perfection of my loss:

Thy Clarence he is dead that kill'd my Edward;

And the beholders of this tragic play,

The adulterate Hastings, Rivers, Vaughan, Grey,

Untimely smother'd in their dusky graves.

Richard yet lives, hell's black intelligencer,

Only reserved their factor, to buy souls

And send them thither: but at hand, at hand,

Ensues his piteous and unpitied end:

Earth gapes, hell burns, fiends roar, saints pray.

To have him suddenly convey'd away.

Cancel his bond of life, dear God, I prey,

That I may live to say, The dog is dead!

Shakespeare, William. Richard III. http://shakespeare.mit.edu/richardiii/richardiii.4.4.html.

Performance Tips

Emotional Beat Breakdown

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