Pericles, Act 4 Scene 5, in its entirety.
Mytilene: a street before the brothel.
Enter, from the brothel, two Gentlemen
First Gentleman: Did you ever hear the like?
Second Gentleman: No, nor never shall do in such a place as this, she being once gone.
First Gentleman: But to have divinity preached there! did you ever dream of such a thing?
Second Gentleman: No, no. Come, I am for no more bawdy-houses: shall’s go hear the vestals sing?
First Gentleman: I’ll do any thing now that is virtuous; but I
am out of the road of rutting for ever.
Exeunt
OK, it’s not actually my totally favourite scene, but it does show Shakespeare at his humorous best: this is a play about shipwrecks and brothels and divine inspiration, and – in context – the conversion of the two Gentlemen by Marina’s virtue is both very serious and very funny.
I’m sorry to say that when asked about favourite scenes as such I tend to think of those where someone gets their comeuppance, like Malvolio in Twelfth Night III.iv or Falstaff in MWW V.v – other specific scenes are covered later in the meme.
Of the very few I did when I was at school in Belfast, I think my favourite was the Banquet scene in Macbeth, Act 3 Scene 4, where I played the title character, and Angela (now a lecturer in business in the north-west of England) played my queen while Eileen (who went on to work for Carmen Calill in London, and is now writing in central Ireland) made a ghostly appearance as Macduff. So I guess I’ll settle for that.
Day #1: Your favourite play
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Day #5: Your favourite villain
Day #6: Your favourite villainess
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Day #15: The first play you read
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Day #18: Your favourite dialogue
Day #19: Your favourite movie version of a play
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Day #21: An overrated play
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Day #23: A role you’ve never played but would love to play
Day #24: An actor or actress you would love to see in a particular role
Day #25: Sooner or later, everyone has to choose: Hal or Falstaff?
Day #26: Your favourite couple
Day #27: Your favourite couplet
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Day #29: Your favourite sonnet
Day #30: Your favourite single line