Classical Monologue Blog 2

For my classical monologue I have chosen to play the character of Hermia from 'A Midsummer's Night Dream' by William Shakespeare. Act 3 Scene 2 page 305. I have chosen this monologue because throughout the play she is shown as a strong woman, even though she does all the things she did for love she's no fool, and though she realises that men break promises, she's willing to take a chance and run off with Lysander anyway. For all these reasons, Hermia approaches love as though it were something easily threatened, but not easily lost. It also contrasts beautifully with my other monologue - Dido. As Hermia knows exactly what she wants and who she is, and has enough humour to balance out the drama.

Act 3 Scene 2
HERMIA

“Puppet”? Why so?—Ay, that way goes the game.

Now I perceive that she hath made compare

Between our statures. She hath urged her height,

And with her personage, her tall personage,

Her height, forsooth, she hath prevailed with him.—

And are you grown so high in his esteem

Because I am so dwarfish and so low?

How low am I, thou painted maypole? Speak.

How low am I? I am not yet so low

But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.

Translation:
“Puppet”? Why “puppet”?—Oh, I see where this is going. She’s talking about our difference in height. She’s paraded in front of him to show off how tall she is. She won him over with her height.—Does he have such a high opinion of you because I’m so short? Is that it? So how short am I, you painted barber pole? Tell me. How short am I? I’m not too short to gouge your eyes out with my fingernails.


Washington Allston's 1818 painting Hermia and Helena.

This monologue is humorous which I show by the way I say the words and use my facial expressions. For example, "Ay, that way goes the game." To make it humorous I say it in a high voice, with my eyebrows raised in disbelief, as my character can not believe that Helena just said that.

In rehearsal I tried making her seem bigger than she was. I made her chin stick out to make her seem taller than she actually was and I did it on the line "How low am I?" After I did it however I realised that it just made her seem childish and I didn't want her to come off as silly. So instead of raising my chin I just looked up at an imaginary figure to show that she can stand her ground no matter how small she is.

At the very beginning of the monologue I show her as being confused as to why Helena has called her a puppet. When she realised the meaning she laughed, an amused laugh however that was meant to shame Helena for saying such a thing. I got feedback saying that the laugh really worked as it was believable and showed a different side to Hermia, which I wanted to achieve as Hermia is a pretty complex character.

"I am not yet so low But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes." - is the last line of the monologue and I play it with a touch of hurt and anger. Instead of her lunging for Helena I made her stand still but punch the line with the tone of her voice. I made her voice crack half way through to show that she's more hurt than she lets on and because she shows that weakness the anger she finishes on comes more powerfully.