The monologue can be defined as a form of dialogue that an individual can perform for an audience or for himself. In general, this type of speech is usually of short duration and its main characteristic is that only a single person can carry it out. When speaking of literary monologues, then reference is made to a widely implemented resource in most genres, be it in journalism, poetry, theater scripts, novels, short stories, etc. The protagonist will narrate his own stories, where his feelings will be reflected during the monologue.
What is a monologue
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It is a speech made by one person and directed at various recipients, either through literature, audio, video, character or narrator. These types of dialogues have been used as resources for the different literary genres, including stories, poetry, novels, journalism, scripts, theaters, discussions, magazines, etc.
In these speeches, the role of the interlocutor stands out and this is achieved by making use of interrogatives and different references, coupled with that, many exclamations are used to give more attention to the speech.
If you are looking for a practical example for this term, you could speak of monologues of the vagina, a speech prepared and shaped by Eve Ensler, an American feminist who speaks of the organ in question implementing drama and comedy. You can even mention the bird's monologue, which came to light thanks to the Victorious teen series.
Characteristics of the monologue
Among all the characteristics of these dialogues, the use of exclamations, the way in which the interlocutor stands out and the character's ways of expression (voice and thought) should be mentioned.
Regarding the voice, it refers to when it replicates with the other characters or when it remains isolated.
Now, in terms of thought, we speak of self-cited monologues, cited ones, referred-thinking or autonomous monologues.
Types of monologues
The speeches can vary according to the context, there may be short monologues or some longer ones, monologues for casting or simply to practice talent, however, it is important to note that there are different types, each with its specific characteristics and a series of elements that must be followed to remain individualized, these are the dramatic (better known as theatrical monologue), humor and internal or interior.
Dramatic monologue
It is a genre through which the character begins to make reflections aloud, making expressions of his ideas, emotions and deep thoughts to a specific audience. These types of discourses are characterized by having or interpreting more than one character, in addition, the difference between the poetic, narrative and dramatic is not precise because space and time tend to be manipulated, thus making use of affective and intellectual communications that they generally exist between two or more people.
It also has the characterization effect of the characters, this makes it have a certain psychological value and that it is taken as a tool, element or action for introspection. Examples of theatrical or dramatic monologue include Shakespeare's plays, including the Hamlet monologue.
Humor monologue
Also known as a comic monologue, it is a technique by which a comedian expresses different points of view without the need for extravagant costumes or decorations on location.
This person, throughout his speech, talks about various topics with comic and funny touches to provoke the laughter of the spectator or interlocutor, an example of this is the different Stand Up Comedy, such as the comic monologue of George Harris or Carlos Ballarta. In this aspect there is also room for a love monologue, although always with the spicy touch of comedy.
Interior monologue
It is just another discourse technique in which the interpreter puts his thoughts about a real world and another that is part of the outside on paper, all based on the imagination of a protagonist. It is difficult to know what happens in this type of speeches, in fact, interpreters usually make extremely long sentences of thought, in addition, the use of punctuation marks is avoided, in this way, the flow of ideas is not broken and stay focused on the subject. An example of this type of monologue is that of Ulysses, by James Joyce.
Examples of monologues
“ Alberta is a 10-year-old girl, characterized by being very active and always playing with her classmates. The building is close to your home, so it doesn't take long to get home after your school day. Elena is María's best friend and when it is time for recess, they both play with another of their friends, Diego, who is very heavy and because of him, they end up leaving the playground ”. This could be considered as a short speech.
“ A man, apparently a father of a family, goes to a park in the middle of the afternoon. He has a big financial problem and, in the midst of despair, he begins to talk to himself. You enter the dilemma of terminating a financial contract for lack of money, but if you do, the monetary value of that contract is lost. Could you hold on a little longer? Having that contract in your home represents a danger, since thieves could enter and take both the document and everything they see in their path. What can you do?
