Monologue - wikipedia Monologue For the Soviet film, see Monologue ( film ). For the Malayalam film, see Anantaram. For the speech of a narrator, see Voiceover. Actor Christopher Walken performing a monologue in the 1984 stage play Hurlyburly In theatre, a monologue ( from Greek : μονόλογος, from μόνος mónos, `` alone, solitary '' and λόγος lógos, `` speech '' ) is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their mental thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media ( plays, films, etc. ), as well as in non-dramatic media such as poetry. Monologues share much in common with several other literary devices including soliloquies, apostrophes, and aside. There are, however, distinctions between each of these devices. Contents 1 Similar literary devices 2 History 3 Types of monologues 4 Audition monologues 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Similar literary devices Monologues are similar to poems, epiphanies, and others in that they involve one ' voice ' speaking but there are differences between them. For example, a soliloquy involves a character relating his or her thoughts and feelings to him / herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters. A monologue is the thoughts of a person spoken out loud. Monologues are also distinct from apostrophes, in which the speaker or writer addresses an imaginary person, inanimate object, or idea. Asides differ from each of these not only in length ( asides are shorter ) but also in that asides are not heard by other characters even in situations where they logically should be ( e.g. two characters engaging in a dialogue interrupted by one of them delivering an aside ). History In ancient Greek theatre, the origin of western drama, the conventional three actor rule was preceded by a two actor rule, which was itself preceded by a convention in which only a single actor would appear on stage, along with the chorus. The origin of the monologue as a dramatic device, therefore, is not rooted in dialogue. It is, instead, the other way around ; dialogue evolved from monologue. Ancient Roman theatre featured monologues extensively, more commonly than either Ancient Greek theatre or modern theatre. One of the key purposes of these monologues was to indicate the passage of significant amounts of time ( that would be tedious to actually play out in real time ) within scenes. This type of monologue is referred to as a linking monologue. Other monologue types included `` entrance monologues '' and exit monologues. In each of these cases a primary function is indicating the passage of time. From Renaissance theatre onward, monologues generally focused on characters using the extended speech to pursue their dramatic need. Postmodern theatre, on the other hand, often embraces the performative aspects of the monologue, even to the point of challenging the boundary between character portrayal ( e.g. acting ) and autobiographical speeches. Types of monologues Interior monologues involve a character externalizing their thoughts so that the audience can witness experiences that would otherwise be mostly internal. In contrast, a dramatic monologue involves one character speaking to another character. Monologues can also be divided along the lines of active and narrative monologues. In an active monologue a character is using their speech to achieve a clear goal. Narrative monologues simply involve a character telling a story and can often be identified by the fact that they are in the past tense. Audition monologues Actors in theatre and sometimes in film and television may be called upon to use monologues for audition purposes. Audition monologues demonstrate an actor 's ability to prepare a piece and deliver a performance. These pieces are usually relegated to two minutes ( sometimes less ) and are often paired with a contrasting monologue. This can be a comic monologue paired with a dramatic monologue or it can mean classical paired with contemporary. The choice of monologues for an audition can often depend on the play in question or the role the actor wants to land. The audition monologue is a rite of passage with theatre actors and a tradition that continues today. See also Dramatic monologue One - person show Oratory Performance poetry Rhetoric Stand - up comedy Storytelling Diseuse Spoken word References Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/list/Bf4eKcczgnk/ Jump up ^ `` Dramatic Monologue : An Introduction ''. Victorianweb.org. 2003 - 03 - 10. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 16. Jump up ^ `` Soliloquy -- Definition and More from the Free Merriam - Webster Dictionary ''. Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 16. ^ Jump up to : `` The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare ''. Pleasanton.k12.ca.us. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 16. Jump up ^ Kuritz, Paul ( 1988 ). The Making of Theatre History. ISBN 978 - 0 - 13 - 547861 - 5. Retrieved 27 May 2014. Jump up ^ Henry W. Prescott ( January 1939 ). `` Link Monologues in Roman Comedy ''. Classical Philology. 34 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 23. JSTOR 264065. ^ Jump up to : Henry W. Prescott ( April 1939 ). `` Link Monologues in Roman Comedy ''. Classical Philology. 34 ( 2 ) : 116 -- 126. JSTOR 264823. Jump up ^ Henry W. Prescott ( January 1942 ). `` Exit Monologues in Roman Comedy ''. Classical Philology. 37 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 21. JSTOR 264367. Jump up ^ Geis, Deborah R. ( December 1993 ). Postmodern theatric ( k ) s : monologue in contemporary American drama. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 472 - 10467 - 3. Retrieved 27 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` monologue ( drama and literature ) - Encyclopædia Britannica ''. Britannica.com. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 16. Jump up ^ `` Monologue Information ''. Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 16. Jump up ^ `` Audition Monologues ''. Ace Your Audition. External links Look up monologue, soliloquy, or rant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Monologues at the Open Directory Project ( 1 ) Transmission of ideas 1 person to themselves, mental 1 person to themselves or to another without reply, verbal 2 or more people, verbal Thought Monologue Dialogue Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monologue&oldid=799068445 '' Categories : Comedy Drama Fiction Style ( fiction ) Fiction - writing mode Figures of speech Film and video terminology Monologues Narratology Genres of poetry Hidden categories : Articles containing Greek - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2012 Use dmy dates from April 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Afrikaans Български Boarisch Bosanski Català Čeština Cymraeg Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Frysk Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Ido Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog Türkçe Українська 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 5 September 2017, at 12 : 53. 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Question: when a character speaks to the audience for an extended time such a speech is called a
Answer: monologue