Definition:
A speech or composition presenting the words or thoughts of a single character. Someone who delivers a monologue is called a monologuist or monologist. See also:
Etymology:
From the Greek, "speaking alone"Examples and Observations:
- "It was the first day off in a long time, and all of us were trying to get a little rest and relaxation out by the pool at this big, modern hotel that looked something like a prison. If I had to call it anything I would call it a 'pleasure prison.' It was the kind of place you might come to on a package tour out of Bangkok. You'd come down on a chartered bus--and you'd probably not wander off the grounds because of the high barbed-wire fence they have to keep you in and the bandits out. And every so often you would hear shotguns going off as the hotel guards fired at rapid dogs down along the beach on the Gulf of Siam.
"But if you really wanted to walk on the beach, all you had to learn to do was pick up a piece of seaweed, shake it in the dog's face and everything would be hunky dory."
(Spalding Gray, Swimming to Cambodia. Theatre Communications Group, 2005) - "A monologue is a predominantly verbal presentation given by a single person featuring a collection of ideas, often loosely assembled around one or more themes. Note that I do not define it as a strictly verbal presentation; many, though certainly not all, successful monologuists also employ nonverbal elements to great effect, such as, their use of facial expressions and hand gestures, along with a variety of props and stage devices."
(Jay Sankey, Zen and the Art of the Monologue. Routledge, 2000) - "A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet."
(Truman Capote)
Pronunciation: MA-neh-log
Also Known As: dramatic soliloquy
Alternate Spellings: monolog
