A dramatic monologue is a type of poetry in which a single speaker, usually not the poet, reveals their inner thoughts and feelings to an audience or an implied listener. The speaker is often a fictional character, but they can also be a historical figure or a literary creation. The monologue typically takes the form of a speech or soliloquy and is used to reveal the speaker's character and motivations.
One of the most famous examples of a dramatic monologue is Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," in which the speaker, the Duke of Ferrara, speaks to an emissary sent by a prospective bride's family. Through the Duke's words and the subsequent description of a portrait of his late wife, the reader learns about the Duke's jealousy, possessiveness, and manipulative nature.
Dramatic monologues can also be found in plays and novels, where they serve a similar purpose of revealing a character's inner thoughts and motivations. For example, in William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," the titular character delivers a famous soliloquy in which he contemplates suicide and grapples with his own mortality.
In addition to revealing character, dramatic monologues can also be used to explore themes and ideas. For example, in T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," the speaker grapples with feelings of inadequacy and his inability to connect with others. Through his monologue, Eliot explores themes of loneliness, isolation, and the human desire for connection and understanding.
Overall, dramatic monologues are a powerful tool for poets, playwrights, and novelists to reveal the inner thoughts and motivations of their characters and explore deeper themes and ideas. They allow the audience to gain insight into the characters' personalities and experiences and can help to create a more immersive and engaging storytelling experience.
84 Dramatic Monologues For Women (Powerful & Emotional Pieces)
For this monologue, you can cut the other lines and it will still read as a complete piece! They never censure the doings of others; they think there is too much pride in such censure; and leaving lofty words to others, they only reprove our actions by their own virtue. Read the play here — Watch the movie —. How oft it chances that in dreams a man Has wed his mother! When I walk away and think I shall forget you, it turns out I am headed straight for love. He rises against me, I cut off his head, stick it on a pike, raise it high up so all on the streets can see. Shall I listen to thee, love, whose delicious power causes my desires to rebel against this proud tyrant? The hearts That spanieled me at heels, to whom I gave Their wishes, do discandy, melt their sweets On blossoming Caesar, and this pine is barked That overtopped them all.
17 Powerful Dramatic Monologues for Women
I was still the same waist size since high school. Suddenly, you find your whole days blending together to create one endless and suffocating loop. I was there when this wonderful person drifted into this world, and I was there when she drifted out. Delaney, and call attention to myself, or should I just ignore the pictures? And I know you love me. All those tedious, sticky fumblings, in the back seats of cars, while you could only dream of getting out.
Dramatic monologue Definition & Meaning
May I smoke my pipe as well? Men fall in love so quickly, until they basically go mad, and then, bit by bit, take their distance and fall out of love again. I call That piece a wonder, now: Frà Pandolf's hands Worked busily a day, and there she stands. In this passage, the Duke indeed reveals himself to be a total control-freak; in the next breath, he implies he had the Duchess killed for what he perceived was her insolence! Sometimes I tell the boy old stories of courage and justice, difficult as they are to remember. You know, like, leave me. I had a mind to visit the high shrines, For Oedipus is overwrought, alarmed With terrors manifold.
