Olivia: What is your parentage?

At a glance

• Character: Olivia — Female character.
• Useful for: Teens, young adults and adults.
• Rehearsal challenge: A short speech with quick changes of thought.
• Text: The complete uninterrupted speech identified below, extracted from the public-domain source edition. It is one speech within a longer play.

Timing is an estimate, not an audition guarantee. Time your own delivery with pauses and reactions. The character description explains the play; actors of any gender may explore the role in practice, subject to the requirements of a particular production or audition.

What happens immediately before this speech?

Olivia has declined Orsino's courtship, but his messenger Cesario has held her attention. After the messenger departs, she repeats a question and answer from their conversation, admires what she has noticed and tries to slow herself down. She ends by calling Malvolio; in the dialogue that follows, she sends him after Cesario with the invented ring story.

Speaking to: Herself while replaying Cesario's words; Malvolio is summoned in the final line.

What the character wants: Understand and briefly contain a new attraction, then act on it.

A change to explore: Recollection becomes recognition, and recognition becomes a decision to bring the messenger back into reach.

The complete speech

Olivia · Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 5

Source: Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 5 in MIT’s Complete Works of Shakespeare. The spoken wording follows that edition; stage directions are omitted. Verse line breaks are retained. Prose is displayed as a paragraph. Other editions may differ in spelling, punctuation or line division.

The thought in plain English

I asked about Cesario's family, and the answer was that his birth is better than his present circumstances. Everything about him seems to support it. Slow down—if only Orsino were like his messenger. Can attraction arrive this quickly? I feel it happening. Let it happen. Malvolio!

This CueRoom paraphrase is a study aid. The rehearsal demo uses Shakespeare’s wording above.

Words and phrases to understand

parentage

Family or birth.

Above my fortunes

Of higher birth than present circumstances suggest.

five-fold blazon

A five-part display or proclamation of admirable qualities.

soft, soft

Wait; slow down.

plague

Here an image of attraction arriving like an infection.

Acting questions

• Why do you replay this particular question and answer?
• What quality of Cesario interrupts your attempt to stay controlled?
• Who are you addressing when you tell yourself not to go too fast?
• What action becomes possible once you say, 'Well, let it be'?

A rehearsal experiment

Begin by borrowing the remembered rhythm of Cesario's answer, then return to Olivia's own voice. Try the call for Malvolio first as a practical instruction and then as an impulsive escape from thinking. Keep the reason for calling him clear.

Keep the scene playable

The opening is a recalled exchange spoken by Olivia alone; it is not a newly added second character in this monologue. The final summons belongs to the complete speech and provides a playable action instead of a soft fade-out.

Rehearse Olivia’s monologue free in CueRoom

The real rehearsal app opens with this exact speech divided into 4 thought beats. Choose Practice my lines to recall each beat, or Listen to the recording to hear the prepared reading. Prompt plays the current beat; bookmarks help you return to a difficult transition.

How to memorize this speech

The short speech has a strong path: remembered exchange, list of qualities, brake, comparison with Orsino, realization, decision and summons. Use that path to recall the wording without making each step a separate performance pause.

Try recalling a beat before revealing it, check the exact wording, and then connect it to the following beat. Once the sequence holds, run the whole speech with a listener and intention. Use the monologue preparation plan for a short deadline or the line-learning guide for a longer rehearsal routine.

Choosing it for an audition or class

A compact choice for short audition limits. Check the wording in the edition requested by your school or director, since punctuation and line division can differ.

Read the surrounding scene and check the audition’s period, duration and edition requirements. Make any permitted cut before learning it. This public demo always uses the complete selected speech shown above.

Related Shakespeare monologues

• Viola: I left no ring with her — A returned ring makes Viola realize that Olivia has fallen for Cesario, the identity Viola is using while serving Orsino.
• Beatrice: What fire is in mine ears? — After overhearing a conversation arranged for her benefit, Beatrice decides to put aside scorn and return Benedick's supposed love.
• Benedick: This can be no trick — Benedick, who has argued against marriage, persuades himself that returning Beatrice's love is the sensible thing to do.

Compare all 12 Shakespeare speeches → · Explore the whole monologue library →

Text and rehearsal-note credits

Speech by William Shakespeare. MIT states that its HTML Shakespeare texts are placed in the public domain. Selection, context, plain-English explanation and rehearsal exercises on this page are prepared for CueRoom. The Shakespeare text is not an original CueRoom monologue or a modern copyrighted edition.

Compare this female Shakespeare role with contemporary originals in Monologues for Women, with playing-age guidance and contrasting audition pairs.

Working to a short time limit? Compare this piece with the one-minute monologue selection, then time your own delivery with pauses. The full text and prerecorded demo stay the same.

Choosing for a limited performance slot? Compare this 81-word piece with the other short monologue selections, then time your own complete take with the pauses you need.