DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE

MEANING

1.      Drama – Dramatic qualities

2.      Mono- single

3.      Logue- speech

Hence, Dramatic Monologue is a speech which is sung by

THREE ENTITIES

1.      Speaker: He speaks his feelings, experiences and views. The pronoun ‘i’ is used for the speaker not for the poet.

2.      Listener: He listens to speaker silently without interruption.

3.      Drama: The speaker uses all the features of dramas LIKE MENTAL CONFLICTS, emotional persuasion, loud dialogue, presentation etc.

ORIGIN AND HISTORY

1.      It is originated in ancient Greek. It was used in Greek Tragedy in the form of poetic composition.

2.      Later it reached to England during Renaissance and appeared in Elizabethan Dramas particularly in tragedies.

3.      Shakespeare used Dramatic Monologue in his many dramas like Hamlet.

4.      In Victorian age in England, Dramatic Monologue emerges as an independent complete poem. The whole poem stands as a Dramatic Monologue which is the beginning, middle and the ending itself. Examples-

1.      The first is Robert Browning. He was the great writer of such Dramatic Monologue for example My Last Duchess, The Last Ride Together, Evelyn Hope, Andrea Del Satro etc.

2.      The second is Alfred Lord Tennyson. He wrote Ulysses, a dramatic monologue.

DEFINITION

1.      Dramatic monologue is a poetic composition written in the form of a speech of an individual character.

2.      It is a poetic composition which consists of the feelings, experiences and views of a poetic character in view of a situation.

3.      It compresses into a single vivid scene having a narrative sense of the speaker’s history and psychological insight into his character. 

4.      It means self-conversation or speech which includes silent interlocutor presented dramatically.

5.      Interlocutor- a person who takes part in a conversation

6.      In Dramatic Monologue, a person speaks to someone else to reveal specific intentions of his actions.

7.      Poet doesn’t involve himself rather he/she chooses a character for it.

 

QUALITIES/CHARACTERISTICS

1.      Dramatic Monologue has vogue ideas

2.      Its language is tough and rough.

3.      Presentation of ideas is artificial.

4.      They have a theatrical quality; that is, the poem is meant to be read to an audience. It has a character, plot and speech etc.

5.      Character shows mental conflicts and emotional pressure.

6.      These are the words of one solitary speaker with no dialogue coming from any other characters. 

7.      The reason poets choose to write poems like this is to express his point of view through the words of a character.

EXAMPLES

Examples of dramatic monologue:

1.      “My Last Duchess” - Robert Browning.

2.      “love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” – T.S. Eliot.

3.      “Dover Beach” – Mathew Arnold.

 

Similarities and Differences Between Dramatic Monologue and Soliloquy-

S No	Dramatic Monologue	Soliloquy
Similarity	Speaker shows internal expressions of his/her mind.	Speaker shows internal expressions of his/her mind.
Differences	It has all the elements of dramas.	Its representation is different from drama elements
	There are two or more listeners of the dialogues of the speaker.	On one is the listener of the soliloquy.
	The speaker is giving a long speech to other characters or audience.	The speaker is giving a long speech to him or herself (or to the audience).
	The other character on the scene doesn’t disturb the speaker of dramatic monologue.	There is no other character to react.
	It is longer than soliloquy.	It is shorter in length.
	It gives poet a full scope of character portrayal.	It doesn’t do so.