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Junior Board | Monologue of the Month | Student Commentary | Featured School

Milwaukee Shakespeare Junior Board

Milwaukee Shakespeare is pleased to announce the inception of the Milwaukee Shakespeare Junior Board. High school students passionate about Shakespeare and the theatre, the Junior Board is working with Milwaukee Shakespeare to volunteer, learn about theatre operations and the production process, and exchange ideas and news.

The mission of the Junior Board is two-fold:

• to facilitate comprehension and enjoyment of Shakespeare by involving the community in the creative process of Milwaukee Shakespeare's productions; and
• to enhance our artistic journey through our own exploration of Shakespeare's works and through connections with theatre professionals.

Members of the Junior Board include:

Peter Andersen, President
Katherine Packer, Vice President
Anna Patel, Secretary

Kelley Annesley
William D. Larry
Eric Schabla
Anne K. Sieg

Recent Board activities include attendance of the Preview for 1 Henry IV, an informal reading of Cymbeline and 2 Henry IV, a casual discussion with actor Brian J. Gill about his studies at The Globe, London, attendance at the first rehearsal of 2 Henry IV and volunteer projects in the Milwaukee Shakespeare offices.

Contact the Education Department for information on Junior Board news and events.

Members of the Milwaukee Shakespeare Junior Board gather in our rehearsal hall to read and discuss the plays of the season.

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Monologue of the Month

Welcome to Milwaukee Shakespeare's Monologue of the Month.

Katie Higgins, a member of our Junior Board, suggested that we periodically take a look at lesser-known passages of plays, pick them apart, and have a conversation about them. Want to join the dialogue? Have a favorite monologue you'd like to appear on the site for discussion? Email Marcy Kearns.

Posthumus in Cymbeline

POSTHUMUS, Act V, scene i

Yea, bloody cloth, I'll keep thee: for I wish'd
Thou shouldst be colour'd thus. You married ones,
If each of you should take this course, how many
Must murder wives much better than themselves
For wrying but a little? O Pisanio!
Every good servant does not all commands:
No bond but to do just ones. Gods, if you
Should have ta'en vengeance on my faults, I never
Had lived to put on this: so had you saved
The noble Imogen to repent, and struck
Me, wretch, more worth your vengeance. But alack,
You snatch some hence for little faults; that's love,
To have them fall no more: you some permit
To second ills with ills, each elder worse,
And make them dread it, to the doers' thrift.
But Imogen is your own, do your best wills,
And make me blest to obey.  I am brought hither
Among the Italian gentry, and to fight
Against my lady's kingdom: 'tis enough
That, Britain, I have kill'd thy mistress; peace,
I'll give no wound to thee: therefore, good heavens,
Hear patiently my purpose.  I'll disrobe me
Of these Italian weeds, and suit myself
As does a Briton peasant: so I'll fight
Against the part I come with: so I'll die
For thee, O Imogen, even for whom my life
Is, every breath, a death: and thus, unknown,
Pitied, nor hated, to the face of peril
Myself I'll dedicate. Let me make men know
More valor in me than my habits show.
Gods, put the strength o' th’ Leonati in me!
To shame the guise o' the world, I will begin
The fashion less without, and more within.

Returning to the stage after a two-act absence, Posthumus reacquaints us with his circumstances, and completes his massive transition from murderously avenging (supposed) cuckold to penitent anonymous soldier.  There are multiple “deleted scenes” that have happened to him since we last saw him telling us he’ll “do something--!”  to Imogen upon being convinced of her infidelity: he has sent his servant Pisanio to kill her, he has decided that that was the wrong thing to do, he has traveled back to Britain from his banishment in Rome as a member of the Roman army, and finally, received the “bloody cloth” of the first line from Pisanio—false proof that Imogen is dead.

Posthumus begins the speech by addressing four different parties within the first seven lines, each time switching his focus mid-line, as he continues to speak in a similar fashion to the rapid jumps and warped stream-of-consciousness that characterize his “Women must be half-workers” soliloquy in Act II, Scene 4.  Finally, after ruefully reminding us of what he’s done and how he’s done it by talking to the cloth itself, the married segment of the audience, and the servant he wishes would’ve exercised more discernment in carrying out commands, he speaks to the gods and unfolds a more reflective and expanded point: the irony that the mostly blameless Imogen should suffer more than others, including himself, who have committed more offenses.  Lines 7-17 feature more colons, as Posthumus builds his argument, but also a pair of “But”s, as he defers to the gods’ judgment despite having pointed out how unjust it is.

After presenting us something to ponder, it’s right back to the plot in line 17, as he rejects fighting against Britain (“My lady’s kingdom”), and like King Lear’s Edgar, goes into poor disguise before our eyes.  His purpose comes across in a neat bit of progressive rhetoric: Disguise, in order to fight, in order to die, for whom his life is worthless without, so therefore into the fray he rushes.  The play’s action thus propelled forward, he leaves us with a quote-worthy final couplet to inspire himself and the audience.

The entire speech, then, is a great opportunity for an actor who has been sitting in the green room for an hour to get back fully into the world of the play by recounting his story to himself and the audience, overcoming bitterness and coming to terms with his fate and situation, and finally moving into decisive action that will carry us through to the climax. 

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Student Commentary

Share your projects, essays, reviews, and thoughts on our productions!  Selected commentary will appear on this portion of the website.  E-mail Milwaukee Shakespeare Education with your feedback.

Selected Student Commentary on 1 Henry IV, Spring 2007

I had never seen a Henry play before this one, and I really enjoyed it.  It’s made me a Shakespeare fan!   - Rufus King High School

Being so close to the action was thrilling!  It really made me feel like the actors were talking to me.... I liked how you could see the audience’s emotions as well as the play.  - Home School

It’s more interesting, appealing, exciting than I thought it would be.  - Mukwonago High School

Extremely funny, attention grabbing, and interesting.  The fight scenes were phenomenal and individual and creative.  - St. Joan Antida High School

I really liked how the stage was in between the sets of chairs.  I liked how you could see the audience’s emotions as well as the play.  - Home School