MONOLOGUES

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MONOLOGUES
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MONOLOGUE

• monologue  
• from Late Gk. monologos "speaking alone," from
  Gk. monos "single, alone" logos "speech, word,"
  from legein "to speak"
• 1. a form of dramatic entertainment, comedic
  solo, or the like by a single speaker a
  comedian's monologue.
• 2.a prolonged talk or discourse by a single
  speaker, esp. one dominating or monopolizing a
  conversation.
• 3.any composition, as a poem, in which a single
  person speaks alone.
• 4.a part of a drama in which a single actor
  speaks alone soliloquy.
• monologue comes from Greek and soliloquy from
  Latin, but both mean 'speaking alone'
• http//dictionary.com

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Monologues are

• long speeches by one character (human, animal or
  object)
• spoken to self, imagined other character or
  audience

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Monologues reveal (through voice)

• Personality
• Thoughts
• Emotions
• Some aspect of how
• character sees the
• world / their personal
• perception

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A monologues purpose may be to

• Persuade (e.g. monologue of a
• smoker to persuade others
• to quit)
• A monologues purpose should always be to
  entertain and engage.

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STRUCTURE of monologues

• Title should be significant, possibly ambiguous
  e.g. A Lady Of Letters
• Divide into manageable sections and vary lengths
  for variety
• Usually a chronological sequence shows time
  passing though the story
• Use clear (present tense) subheadings as stage
  directions which add to revealing of character
• Use fade to black to indicate scene changes

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CREATING CHARACTER in monologues

• Monologue syntax should reflect real speech
• You should create an idiolect for your character
  which indicates their age, social class,
  education, attitudes etc.
• Choose an appropriate level of formality for your
  character. Figurative language could be used e.g.
  cliches or literary similes depending on
  educational level you have chosen
• Pauses can be used to introduce key moments

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LANGUAGE DEVICES in monologues

• Contractions intensifiers e.g. really
• verbal fillers e.g. well, so, whatever
• Personal idiolect expressions e.g. Ah say, ah
  say, Maureen euphemisms
• Deliberately vague language e.g. thingy
• Unfinished utterances tag questions
• deictic references
• emphatic adverbs e.g. though

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TOPIC / THEME in monologues

• The monologue could deal with an issue (human
  interest story from a newspaper as stimulus?)
• Monologues often show how people respond to
  pressure
• Ironic self-revelation can be a key feature the
  audience realises what character / narrator does
  not. Quotations from characters friends or
  family can show this e.g. My mum says Im too
  stubborn

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Alan Bennett is a famous author of
monologues.

• Bennetts humour is particularly English and he
  often pokes fun at the establishment.
• He was a butchers son from Leeds who was
  educated at Oxford, so his humour often exposes
  class attitudes and regional quirks. He is
  fascinated by the North of England and cultural
  behaviour.

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A Lady of Letters character

• Irene Ruddock, an ordinary middle-aged woman
  spends her time writing letters of complaint and
  concern to institutions and public figures whilst
  monitoring the business of her neighbours. She
  believes herself to be a guardian of public
  morality and her interest in the apparent neglect
  of a neighbours child leads to our awareness of
  her increasingly intrusive behaviour.

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A Lady of Letters

• Consider the title and its connotations.
• How does Bennett create an idiolect for Ruddock?
• Look at your LANGUAGE DEVICES box and identify as
  many features as you can. (P.E.E / F.E.E.)

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In their shoes

• Choose a picture from this selection

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In their shoes

• 1. With a partner, create a list of questions for
  the shoes to answer. E.g.
• Why were they purchased?
• What secrets do they know?
• Where are their owners now?
• What hard times have they seen?
• 2. Write three paragraphs of the monologue and
  let the class guess which shoes you are writing
  as.

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Watch Creature Comforts, The Pet Shop

• Focus on the creation of a voice for the snake,
  the dog and the rat.
• Write down
• phrases they use
• accents and their connotations
• paralinguistic / prosodic features
• what the characters reveal about themselves