Rosalind's Epilogue
by William Shakespeare
Monologue · public domain · free to perform · attribution required
Rosalind's Epilogue
Rosalind, As You Like It, Epilogue, by William Shakespeare. Public domain. Intro and performance note by FreeSchoolPlays.com.
THE SPEECH IN PLAIN WORDS
The wedding is done and the story is over, so Rosalind comes to the front of the stage to talk straight to the audience -- something a lead lady almost never did. She admits it is unusual, jokes that a good play should not need her at all, and then simply asks the crowd to like the show. It is warm, witty, and a little cheeky, a performer winning over the room before the lights go down.
THE MONOLOGUE
It is not the fashion to see the lady the epilogue, but it is no more unhandsome than to see the lord the prologue. If it be true that good wine needs no bush, 'tis true that a good play needs no epilogue. Yet to good wine they do use good bushes, and good plays prove the better by the help of good epilogues. What a case am I in then, that am neither a good epilogue nor cannot insinuate with you in the behalf of a good play! I am not furnished like a beggar; therefore to beg will not become me. My way is to conjure you, and I'll begin with the women. I charge you, O women, for the love you bear to men, to like as much of this play as please you. And I charge you, O men, for the love you bear to women -- as I perceive by your simpering, none of you hates them -- that between you and the women the play may please. If I were a woman, I would kiss as many of you as had beards that pleased me, complexions that liked me, and breaths that I defied not. And I am sure as many as have good beards, or good faces, or sweet breaths will for my kind offer, when I make curtsy, bid me farewell.
PERFORMANCE NOTE
This is direct address -- find real people in the audience and play to them. The tone is mock-modest: Rosalind pretends she is no good at this while charming everyone effortlessly, so keep it light and quick, letting the jokes ("none of you hates them") breathe. The famous "If I were a woman" line was a wink, since the part was first played by a boy actor; play the mischief, not the meaning. End on genuine gratitude and a graceful curtsy.
This is the full, unaltered public-domain text (US); the introduction and performance note are by Monologue.Network via FreeSchoolPlays.com. Free to perform -- a single credit line is the only requirement.
Audition prep notes
Full piece: 1 beat, ~227 words -- very short (Under 2 minutes), about 2 min at a natural pace.
Start with the objective
Before you run it, name your character's objective in one sentence: what do they want in this moment, and what is in the way of getting it easily? Pace, volume, and movement all follow from that one sentence, not the other way around.
Map the beats
The current text renders as a single continuous block, with no internal paragraph breaks to key off of. Build your own beat map instead: mark every point where the character's tactic or target shifts -- a new argument, a new realization, a change in who or what they are speaking to -- and treat each as its own beat.
Pacing for this length -- very short
Economy is everything at this length: cut any preparatory movement before your first line, and land the final beat cleanly rather than adding a button. Under 2 minutes, this often plays as one unbroken thought.
Delivery approach -- Verse / Poetic
Honor the line, not just the sentence: breathe at the end of a verse line even when the punctuation runs on, and let the meter carry the emotional pulse instead of fighting it with naturalistic pauses.
Framing for All ages
This piece is written to read across age groups. Start from the plainest version of the objective -- what the character wants, and why now -- before layering in the nuance your own age and experience bring to it.
Forensics eligibility -- Poetry Interpretation
This piece reads as Poetry Interpretation. That classification is illustrative only -- not official, not an NSDA, NCFL, or UIL certification. Always verify current eligibility with your event's own published rules before entering it in competition.
Generic coaching guidance for actors preparing this piece -- not a substitute for your director's or coach's notes.
Read it here, or print it (or save it as a PDF) straight from your browser. It is free.