A
monologue, or monolog, is a speech made by one person speaking his or her
thoughts aloud or directly addressing a reader, audience or character.
It
is a common feature in drama, animated cartoons, and film.
The word may also
be applied to a poem in the form of the thoughts or speech of a single
individual.
Monologue is a common feature of opera when an aria, recitative
or other sung section may carry out a function similar to that of spoken
monologues in the theatre.
Monologues are often found in twentieth century
fiction.
Comic monologues have become a standard element of entertainment
routines on stage and television.
A Soliloquy.
Youthful Mercury.
"What's this 'ere on the plyte? 'Knock and ring'! Blowed if they won't be
harsking yer to 'walk hinside', next!!"
Cartoon from Punch magazine, Vol.
102, April 23, 1892In a monologue in a play or film, the speaking actor need not
be alone on the stage or scene; however, none of the supporting cast (in theater
or film) speaks.
There are two basic types of monologues in
drama:
Exterior monolog: This is where the actor speaks to another person
who is not in the performance space or to the audience.
Interior monolog:
This is where the actor speaks as if to himself or herself. It is introspective
and reveals the inner motives to the audience. This is also a common device in
stream of consciousness writings. Frequently in modern theatre, the actor may
deliver the monologue in an "aside" (or a sequence of asides).
Where the
character delivering the monologue is alone on stage it may also be described as
a 'soliloquy'. Writers such as Shakespeare used the soliloquy to great effect in
order to express some of the personal thoughts and emotions of characters
without specifically resorting to third-person narration.
It is a
dramatic convention that soliloquies and asides cannot be heard or noticed by
the other characters, even if they are delivered in their plain view.
A
written monologue may contain stage directions for the performer, and might be
preceded by information about the monologue's setting. (For example, Samuel
Beckett's monologue, Krapp's Last Tape).
The monologue was a significant
feature of French classical drama; the monologues of Racine have been highly
prized by French actresses, including Rachel and Sarah Bernhardt.
The
dramatic monologue is a poetic form not to be confused with the monologue in
drama. It was brought to a high standard by Robert Browning. The form is such
wherein the poet writes from a speaker's point of view in the form of an address
to a listener who does not respond in the poem. The speaker in the poem
generally talks about a subject, but inadvertently reveals something about their
character. It gives the poet an opportunity to present his subject in direct
'conversation' with the reader (e.g. Browning's Porphyria's Lover) or places the
reader as a 'character' to whom the monologuist speaks (e.g. the same poet's Mr.
Sludge the Medium or My Last Duchess). Such poetry combines the dramatic impact
of the stage monologue with the potential of more elaborate and suggestive use
of language; on the printed page, where the words can be re-read and pondered,
there is the potential to evoke more complex layers of intent and
meaning.
The term "monologue" is also applied to a form of popular
narrative verse, sometimes comic, often dramatic or sentimental, that was
performed in music halls or in domestic entertainments in the late nineteenth
and early twentieth century. Famous examples include Idylls of the King, The
Green Eye of the Yellow God and Christmas Day in the Workhouse.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monologue
Posted on 2007年10月24日 1401 Views,
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