Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,įar in the fresh lap of the crimson rose No night is now with hymn or carol blest. The human mortals want their winter cheer: The nine-men’s-morris is fill’d up with mud, The fold stands empty in the drowned field,Īnd crows are fatted with the murrion flock Hath rotted ere his youth attain’d a beard The ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn The ox hath therefore stretch’d his yoke in vain, That they have overborne their continents. Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,Īs in revenge, have suck’d up from the seaĬontagious fogs which falling in the land To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind,īut with thy brawls thou hast disturb’d our sport. Similar to Hermione in The Winter’s Tale she is standing up proudly again a jealous partner, and boy does she put Oberon in his place! These are the forgeries of jealousy (Full Text)Īnd never, since the middle summer’s spring, Oberon before this speech accuses Titania of cheating on him with Theseus, and here is her powerful response. Like with most fights, however, we get the sense that there is more to it than meets the eye. These two have fallen out over a changeling boy that Oberon “wants for his henchman”, but Titania will not surrender him. Puck has just introduced what is happening, and he has set the scene for the feud between the Titania and “her jealous Oberon – the king of the fairies. READ MORE: How to Act Shakespeare What has just happened?Īct 2 Scene 1 is the first time we are introduced to the world of the fairies within the play. I see too many actors getting lost in the imagery, and not focusing enough on the argument with Oberon. She isn’t reading Oberon a poem, instead she is using these images and her words to cut him down and win the argument. But remember that you don’t want to get too lost in the images. I have listed above just how much you have to fire up your imagination to make this monologue work. It’s like listening to a national geographic podcast! So not only do you need to understand every word you have to make sure the ideas are crystal clear to you. Everything from the “pelting rivers” to the “angry winter”. As you can see from this text, it involves some huge imagery. You need to really pick this one a part and make sure that you understand every word. The text is so dense and there are a lot of images to unpack. This is one of the toughest monologues in the play. I certainly think this magical element needs to be acknowledged, but I would recommend still always aiming for truth in the performing of it. Consider how you play this side of Titania. I am not just talking about costume, but also gesturing and vocal choices. There are some productions that disregard this entirely and others majorly focus on this element. #2 Never go full fairy!!! A major challenge with Oberon, Puck and Titania is how far do you go with the fairy element. Not only do you have to play with status as Titania, as she is a Queen, you also have to think about the otherworldly quality of the character. Titania is a perfect example of this, and approaching this as “realism” simply won’t work. One of the great challenges of Shakespeare is to step up to the grandeur of the text and characters. Remember, this is not an academic analysis, but a practical guide to help you bring this Titania monologue to life. What a character! She is one commanding lady, and no wonder Oberon has to turn to magic to get what he wants – there is no messing with Titania! I hope this page will be helpful in unpacking this incredible monologue.
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