Henry V -- Upon the King (Act 4, Scene 1)

Shakespeare Monologues, Volume 1 by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) William Shakespeare (April 26, 1564 -- April 23, 1616) remains widely to be considered the single greatest playwright of all time. He wrote in such a variety of genres -- tragedy, comedy, romance, &c -- that there is always at least one monologue in each of his plays. Some of these teach a lesson, some simply characterize Shakespeare at his best, some are funny, some sad, but all are very moving. Each monologue will touch everybody differently. Some people will be so moved by a particular monologue that they will want to record it. So here are the first fifteen monologues.