# Monologues for men: classical speeches, shortest first > Speeches by men characters, timed from the exact text, each with a guide to every line. - URL: https://www.offbook.com/monologues/for-men - Last updated: 2026-10-18 These are speeches written for men characters, from a young lover in an orchard to a king who has just heard that his wife is dead. Each page has the full text, how long it runs, where to cut it, and a guide that explains every line in plain English. Several are among the most famous speeches in English, which cuts both ways: the panel knows them well, so every choice you make is noticed. ## The monologues, shortest first Listed here: speeches by characters who are men in the play as written. Puck is left out: he is a fairy, and productions cast the part with actors of any gender. If a notice welcomes any speech regardless of the character’s gender, the [full list](https://www.offbook.com/monologues) has more. | Monologue | Play | Lines | Run time | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Macbeth: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/tomorrow-and-tomorrow) | Macbeth | 12 | 36 seconds | | [Romeo: But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/but-soft-what-light) | Romeo and Juliet | 24 | 1.4 minutes | | [Petruchio: Thus have I politicly begun my reign](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/thus-have-i-politicly-begun-my-reign) | The Taming of the Shrew | 24 | 1.4 minutes | | [Jaques: All the world’s a stage](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/all-the-worlds-a-stage) | As You Like It | 28 | 1.4 minutes | | [Macbeth: Is this a dagger which I see before me](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/is-this-a-dagger) | Macbeth | 32 | 1.8 minutes | | [Hamlet: To be, or not to be](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/to-be-or-not-to-be) | Hamlet | 35 | 1.8 minutes | | [Mercutio: The Queen Mab speech](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/queen-mab) | Romeo and Juliet | 43 | 2.2 minutes | | [Hamlet: O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/o-what-a-rogue-and-peasant-slave) | Hamlet | 60 | 3.0 minutes | Run times are the words of each speech at a conversational 150 words a minute, before pauses, counted from the full text of public domain editions from Standard Ebooks. To time your own pace, paste a speech into the [monologue timer](https://www.offbook.com/tools/monologue-timer). ## How to choose one for an audition - Start with the time limit in the casting notice. Pick a speech that runs a little under it at a natural pace, so you never have to rush the end. - Choose a character you could be cast as now, close to your age and in a situation you understand. - Look for a turn: a moment where the character changes their mind or makes a decision. A speech that only describes gives you nothing to play. - Know who you are talking to. A speech aimed at another character, or straight at the audience, gives you someone to change. - If the notice asks for two pieces, pair contrasting ones; see [how to choose contrasting monologues](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-choose-contrasting-monologues). Need it shorter? Read [how to cut a monologue](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-cut-a-monologue). ## About each speech ### [Macbeth: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/tomorrow-and-tomorrow) Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5. Verse, about 36 seconds at 150 words a minute. Macbeth hears that his wife is dead and sees his whole life as meaningless. It is short, about a dozen lines, so every word has to carry weight. ### [Romeo: But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/but-soft-what-light) Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2. Verse, about 1.4 minutes at 150 words a minute. Romeo, hidden in the Capulet orchard, sees Juliet at her window. The speech is pure wonder, spoken while she cannot hear him, so the actor has to play to her without being heard. ### [Petruchio: Thus have I politicly begun my reign](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/thus-have-i-politicly-begun-my-reign) The Taming of the Shrew, Act 4, Scene 1. Verse, about 1.4 minutes at 150 words a minute. Alone after he has called the supper burnt and thrown it at the servants, Petruchio tells the audience his plan: tame Katharina the way a falconer tames a hawk, with no food and no sleep, all while claiming it is done out of care for her. It ends by daring the house to suggest a better way, so it is played straight out to the audience. ### [Jaques: All the world’s a stage](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/all-the-worlds-a-stage) As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7. Verse, about 1.4 minutes at 150 words a minute. Jaques, a lord in exile with Duke Senior in the forest, picks up the Duke’s remark that the world is a theatre and walks through a man’s life in seven ages, from the crying infant to toothless old age. It is the most famous speech in a comedy, but it is wry and thoughtful rather than a joke, so it shows wit and control more than broad comedy. ### [Macbeth: Is this a dagger which I see before me](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/is-this-a-dagger) Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 1. Verse, about 1.8 minutes at 150 words a minute. Alone before the murder, Macbeth sees a dagger in the air. The speech moves from doubt to resolve and ends on the bell that sends him to Duncan’s room. ### [Hamlet: To be, or not to be](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/to-be-or-not-to-be) Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1. Verse, about 1.8 minutes at 150 words a minute. Hamlet, alone, weighs whether to go on living. It is the most quoted speech in English drama, which is a reason many coaches advise against it for auditions: the panel has heard it a thousand times. As a study piece it is unbeatable. ### [Mercutio: The Queen Mab speech](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/queen-mab) Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 4. Verse, about 2.2 minutes at 150 words a minute. Mercutio spins a fantasy about the fairy who brings dreams, and it runs away with him until Romeo stops him. The fun is the speed; the challenge is the turn into darkness near the end. ### [Hamlet: O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/o-what-a-rogue-and-peasant-slave) Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2. Verse, about 3.0 minutes at 150 words a minute. Hamlet has just watched an actor weep for Hecuba, and turns his anger on himself for doing nothing. It is long and builds to the plan to catch the King with a play, so it rewards an actor who can pace a climb. ## More monologue lists - [Shakespeare monologues](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/shakespeare) - [Monologues for women](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/for-women) - [Dramatic monologues](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/dramatic) - [Comedic monologues](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/comedic) - [Every monologue in the library, shortest first](https://www.offbook.com/monologues) - [Acting scripts: scenes to practice with a partner](https://www.offbook.com/acting-scripts) ## Questions actors ask ### What is the shortest monologue for men on this list? Macbeth’s Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow (Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5): 12 lines and 90 words, about 36 seconds at 150 words a minute. The longest is Hamlet’s O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! (Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2), about 3.0 minutes. ### Which monologues for men run a minute or less? Macbeth’s Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow (about 36 seconds). Times are speech only, so add a few seconds for pauses and check the casting notice for its limit. ### How did you decide which speeches are for men? By the character as the play writes him: each speech here belongs to a man in the play. We do not guess. A character whose gender is open to the production, such as Puck, is left off both this list and the list for women.