All monologues are property and copyright of their owners. Monologues are presented on MightyActor for educational purposes only .
A monologue from the play by Tom Stoppard
Rosencrantz
Do you ever think of yourself as actually dead, lying in a box with the lid on it? Nor do I really. Silly to be depressed by it.
I mean, one thinks of it like being alive in a box. One keeps forgetting to take into account that one is dead. Which should make all the difference.
Shouldn’t it? I mean, you’d never know you were in a box would you? It would be just like you were asleep in a box.
Not that I’d like to sleep in a box, mind you. Not without any air. You’d wake up dead for a start and then where would you be?
In a box. That’s the bit I don’t like, frankly. That’s why I don’t think of it. Because you’d be helpless wouldn’t you?
Stuffed in a box like that. I mean, you’d be in there forever. Even taking into account the fact that you’re dead. It isn’t a pleasant thought.
Especially if you’re dead, really. Ask yourself: if I asked you straight off I’m going to stuff you in this box now – would you rather to be alive or dead?
Naturally you’d prefer to be alive. Life in a box is better than no life at all. I expect. You’d have a chance at least.
You could lie there thinking, well, at least I’m not dead. In a minute, somebody’s going to bang on the lid and tell me to come out.
(knocks) “Hey you! What’s your name? Come out of there!”
Check out our monologue archive below for more monologues.
