Launcelot Gobbo's Monologue from The Merchant of Venice (Act 2 Scene 2) by William Shakespeare

[@kaavyadekhane1987]

Most accurate, and beautiful performance of Launcelot Gobbo in MOV, I have EVER seen. This is true theatre.

[@tomrainn]

Wow. Thank you so much!

[@jalensera]

Best performance of this monologue I’ve seen.

[@richardtolman9202]

I'm using this monologue for auditions this year! I seen this last year and loved the way you did it! Good job mate.

[@tomrainn]

Break a leg with your auditions!!! It's a great monologue, one of my favourites. Thank you for your kind words!

[@artgalaxy5637]

This helped me A LOT!!! Thank You!

[@austinburrowes8611]

Best Shakespeare monologue I’ve seen on KZbin this is awesome

[@tomrainn]

Thank you so much!

[@emrederseniz6366]

this is beatiful to watch.

[@mistymountainrambler61]

Excellent!!

[@ArianaNyasha]

Best Launcelot performance I’ve seen on KZbin 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@KevinKindSongs]

Good job...nice timing. Man, brilliant writing....

[@ruchikabahety9625]

This deserves to blow up man

[@SonakshiMittal]

Today we’re going to be breaking down this fantastic Launcelot monologue from the Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. This is a great monologue for anyone with an upcoming audition for a Shakespearean comedy, or anyone just wanting to brush up their comedy skills. This monologue is chock full of word play, jokes, and big characterisation. Let’s take a look… Context Meet Bassanio, a young Venicean of noble birth who wants to woo the heiress of Belmont, Portia. He needs money to get to Belmont and so he asks his friend Antonio to loan it to him. Unfortunately for Bassanio, Antonio is a bit skint at the moment and says he’ll cover the bond if Bassanio can find a lender. And so Bassanio goes to the wealthy Jewish man, Shylock. Shylock agrees to loan him the money on the condition that should he not get it back he will take a pound of Bassanio’s flesh as collateral. And so after some deliberation he agrees and readies himself to go to Belmont with his friend Gratiano, but is met by Launcelot Gobbo, a servant of Shylock, and his Father Old Gobbo who come to Bassanio asking to enter his service instead… Original Text Certainly, my conscience will serve me to run from this Jew, my master. The fiend is at mine elbow and tempts me, saying to me, ‘Giobbe, Lancelet Giobbe, good Lancelet’, or ‘Good Giobbe’, or ‘Good Lancelet Giobbe, use your legs, take the start, run away’ my conscience says, ‘No; take heed, honest Lancelet, take heed, honest Giobbe’, or, as aforesaid, ‘Honest Lancelet Giobbe, do not run, scorn running with thy heels.’ Well, the most courageous fiend bids me pack. ‘ Via ,’ says the fiend, ‘away,’ says the fiend, ‘for the heavens, rouse up a brave mind,’ says the fiend, ‘and run.’ Well, my conscience, hanging about the neck of my heart, says very wisely to me: ‘My honest friend Lancelet’, being an honest man’s son, or rather an honest woman’s son, for indeed my father did something smack, something grow to - he had a kind of taste - well, my conscience says, ‘ Lancelet , budge not.’ ‘Budge,’ says the fiend. Budge not,’ says my conscience. ‘Conscience,’ say I, ‘you counsel well. Fiend,’ say I, ‘you counsel well.’ To be ruled by my conscience, I should stay with the Jew my master, who, God bless the mark, is a kind of devil; and, to run away from the Jew, I should be ruled by the fiend, who, saving your reverence , is the devil himself. Certainly the Jew is the very devil incarnation, and, in my conscience, my conscience is but a kind of hard conscience, to offer to counsel me to stay with the Jew. The fiend gives the more friendly counsel: I will run, fiend, my heels are at your commandment; I will run.

[@victoriapenrose6518]

Tom, this is stunning!!!! Thank you for sharing this. One of the best interpretations I've seen from anyone doing this monologue. I'm a Drama teacher and am forever encouraging my pupils to be courageous and attempt Shakespeare. Thanks to your performance here, I've convinced another pupil today!

[@tomrainn]

I'm so glad that my work is inspiring students to do the same. I have so much that I want to teach from my journey in the industry so far and I've barely scratched the surface!

[@mennasalem8295]

This is absolutely BRILLIANT!! Hats off to you, my friend. Excellent performance!

[@Muguetsu]

This was great. Thnaks for that

[@tanishqkumar3546]

best perfomance

[@Hattipillar]

amazing!! the use of different camera angles and lighting to differentiate the voices is genius

[@ultronius_studios7473]

this is the epitome of acting, bravo!

[@tomrainn]

That is very kind

[@ultronius_studios7473]

@@tomrainn you’re welcome!

[@pranavpandey1573]

Besides great performance, the cinematography was mind-blowing, the parts where the fiend and the conscience rule are shown by red and white lighting respectively. The parts where his neutral is shown by both. Great Work.

[@VoiceOfAadya]

This is really amusing!

[@theindiangaminggeek3535]

You have a great talent in acting

[@buketsk4487]

🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@ali5997]

Wow I’m meant to be studying this in school, well homeschool. I haven’t started reading it yet. This is probably a sign

[@siboneyfowler8466]

Im using this for adutions

[@tomrainn]

😁

[@billycaspersghost7528]

Found this to be excellent. It is this level of performance that stops me in my tracks and makes me pay heed to Shakespeares work. For so long I denied myself this great mans writings in my ignorance and disdain . I am 61 now and Shakespeare was ruined for me at school in the `70s. Same for so many others. They sucked the life out of it, made it a duty not a pleasure. Many thanks for this performance.Still not sure what "my father did something smack, something grow to.... he had a certain taste" means. Got a general idea though .

[@Adam-yn8cn]

i think it means he was a bit promiscuous

[@juliacarmona2554]

Why does this not have more likes? Why does he not have more subs??

[@tomrainn]

Thank you for your kind words 😊

[@buzios999]

I played this part at school 60 years ago but not half as good as this bloke who has certainly nailed the huge amount of humour in this sly monologue. He really does put all these other - mainly American- putative Go-Boes to shame. I imagine poor old William S. turning in his grave. An excellent performance Mr Clark! To answer the last question you have to be looking for this largely unknown piece. It's not quite " Cry God for Harry, England and Saint George" - a line that might be quite apposite even today......

[@tomrainn]

Thank you greatly for your kind words. I am a huge fan of this monologue and this play!

[@richardtolman9202]

Is it possible if one of you could add my Instagram- Richy Tolman? I could do with asking you some questions on this monologue!

[@tomrainn]

@@richardtolman9202 Hi Richard, sorry I missed this. What's the question?

[@richardtolman9202]

@@tomrainn Have you got an email I can send my monologue to you for advice?

[@tomrainn]

@@richardtolman9202 hey, sorry for the late reply! My Instagram is @tomalade if you want to share a performance with me! Again, sorry it's been so long

[@areeshakhan1612]

This was amazing well apparently LAUNCELOT is my fav. charct......godd job dude...ur amazing