All's Well That Ends Well, Act 3 Scene 1 runs 27 lines of dialogue, spoken by 3 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 127 lines. This scene is part of Act 3 of All's Well That Ends Well.
Full Dialogue
Duke ♂
So that from point to point now have you heard
The fundamental reasons of this war,
Whose great decision hath much blood let forth
And more thirsts after.
The fundamental reasons of this war,
Whose great decision hath much blood let forth
And more thirsts after.
First Lord ♂
Holy seems the quarrel
Upon your grace's part; black and fearful
On the opposer.
Upon your grace's part; black and fearful
On the opposer.
Duke ♂
Therefore we marvel much our cousin France
Would in so just a business shut his bosom
Against our borrowing prayers.
Would in so just a business shut his bosom
Against our borrowing prayers.
Second Lord ♂
Good my lord,
The reasons of our state I cannot yield,
But like a common and an outward man,
That the great figure of a council frames
By self-unable motion: therefore dare not
Say what I think of it, since I have found
Myself in my incertain grounds to fail
As often as I guess'd.
The reasons of our state I cannot yield,
But like a common and an outward man,
That the great figure of a council frames
By self-unable motion: therefore dare not
Say what I think of it, since I have found
Myself in my incertain grounds to fail
As often as I guess'd.
Duke ♂
Be it his pleasure.
First Lord ♂
But I am sure the younger of our nature,
That surfeit on their ease, will day by day
Come here for physic.
That surfeit on their ease, will day by day
Come here for physic.
Duke ♂
Welcome shall they be;
And all the honours that can fly from us
Shall on them settle. You know your places well;
When better fall, for your avails they fell:
To-morrow to the field.
And all the honours that can fly from us
Shall on them settle. You know your places well;
When better fall, for your avails they fell:
To-morrow to the field.
27 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Duke | 13 | 48.1% |
| Second Lord | 8 | 29.6% |
| First Lord | 6 | 22.2% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 13 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 9 lines.
Total speakers on stage
3 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 3
This is Scene 1 of 7 in Act 3 of All's Well That Ends Well.
Scene length vs. play average
At 27 lines, this scene is shorter than the All's Well That Ends Well average scene in All's Well That Ends Well (~127 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 2 Scene 5 · Next: Act 3 Scene 2