Pierrot monologue — Aria da Capo

Pierrot sees clearly into existing evils and is rendered gaily cynical by them; he is both too indolent and too indifferent to do anything about it. Yet in several lines of the play his actual unhappiness is seen, —for instance, “Moon’s just a word to swear by,” in which he expresses his conviction that all beauty and romance are fled from the world. At the end of the play the line, “Yes, and yet I dare say he is just as dead,” must not be said flippantly or cynically, but slowly and with much philosophic concentration on the thought. From the moment when Columbine cries, “What’s that there under the table?” until Pierrot calls, “Cothurnus, come drag these bodies out of here!” they both stand staring at the two bodies, without moving in any way, or even lifting their eyes. (This same _holding_ of the play is used several times also by the shepherds,—for instance, always during the off‐stage interpolations, they stand either staring at each other across the wall, or maintaining whatever other position they may have had when the off‐stage voice begins speaking, until the interruption is over, when they resume their drama quite as if nobody had spoken.) Columbine’s “How curious to strangle him like that” is spoken extremely slowly, in a voice of awe, curiosity, and horror. For a moment the two characters seem almost to feel and be subdued by the tragedy that has taken place. They remain standing very quietly while Cothurnus speaks his final lines off stage, and for a moment after he has said, “The audience will forget”; then very slowly raise their eyes and exchange glances, Pierrot nods his head curtly and says, “That’s so”; they set their bowls gaily back on the table, and the play begins again.