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Soliloquy!: The Shakespeare Monologues: Women
Your one-stop classical workshop! At last, over 175 of Shakespeare's finest and most performable monologues taken from all thirty-seven plays are here in two easy-to-use volumes (Men and Women). Selections travel the entire spectrum of the great dramatist's vision, from comedies, wit and romances, to tragedies, pathos and histories.
Soliloquy! is an excellent and comprehensive collection of Shakespeare's speeches. Not only are the monologues wide-ranging and varied, but they are superbly annotated. Each volume is prefaced by an informative and reassuring introduction, which explains the signals and signposts by which Shakespeare helps the actor on his journey through the text. It includes a very good explanation of blank verse, with excellent examples of irregularities which are specifically related to character and acting intentions. These two books are a must for any actor in search of a 'classical' audition piece.' – Elizabeth Smith, Voice Director, Juilliard
Soliloquy! is an excellent and comprehensive collection of Shakespeare's speeches. Not only are the monologues wide-ranging and varied, but they are superbly annotated. Each volume is prefaced by an informative and reassuring introduction, which explains the signals and signposts by which Shakespeare helps the actor on his journey through the text. It includes a very good explanation of blank verse, with excellent examples of irregularities which are specifically related to character and acting intentions. These two books are a must for any actor in search of a 'classical' audition piece.' – Elizabeth Smith, Voice Director, Juilliard
221 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 27, 2022
This is a great collection of Shakespearean speeches solely spoken by the women of his plays and even had a nice additional chapter at the end of the popular "breeches parts", male speeches spoken by female actresses.
Took a star off as I there was not a single speech from Much Ado About Nothing which is not only my favourite Shakespeare play but one of his funniest as Beatrice has some brilliant word play and observations throughout.
As well as this, a couple of plays only got 1 mention such as King Lear, Othello and most shockingly The Taming of the Shrew. While this could be due to some of the female characters not having enough spoken dialogue to constitute an entire speech I would have been happy for even some mention to Cordelia's rebuttal to Lear and especially Katherine's sparring with...well everyone at the beginning lol.
Overall,
A good collection of female Shakespearean speeches but a little disappointing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
OR
🎭🎭🎭🎭
Took a star off as I there was not a single speech from Much Ado About Nothing which is not only my favourite Shakespeare play but one of his funniest as Beatrice has some brilliant word play and observations throughout.
As well as this, a couple of plays only got 1 mention such as King Lear, Othello and most shockingly The Taming of the Shrew. While this could be due to some of the female characters not having enough spoken dialogue to constitute an entire speech I would have been happy for even some mention to Cordelia's rebuttal to Lear and especially Katherine's sparring with...well everyone at the beginning lol.
Overall,
A good collection of female Shakespearean speeches but a little disappointing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
OR
🎭🎭🎭🎭
June 2, 2019
It's exactly as advertised, plus a little assist with old turns of phrase.
August 16, 2013
Great monologue choices for women.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews