Monologue/Soliloquy

Monologue

UK /ˈmɒn.əl.ɒɡ/ US /ˈmɑː.nə.lɑːɡ/

Soliloquy

UK /səˈlɪl.ə.kwi/ US /səˈlɪl.ə.kwi/

📓Definition by Cambridge Dictionary

a long speech by one person, esp. in a play, movie, or television show ("Monologue definition")

a speech in a play that the character speaks to himself or herself or to the people watching rather than to the other characters ("Soliloquy definition)"

"A monologue is a speech or composition presenting the words or thoughts of a single character. Monologues are also known as dramatic soliloquies. Someone who delivers a monologue is called a monologist or monologuist." ("Monologues in Speech and Composition.") - cited from ThoughCo.

To further paraphrase, " A monologue is predominantly verbal, featuring ideas around a certain theme. As for nonverbal signs - facial expressions and hand gestures are the usual choice of presentation."

While soliloquy is considered to be synonymous to monologue, there seems to be a detailed difference between the two. To paraphrase, "In a soliloquy, the character makes a lengthy speech to him or herself. In a monologue, the character delivers a speech to other characters with the clear intent of being heard by them. In simple terms, if other characters can hear and possibly respond to what a character is saying, the speech cannot be a soliloquy." - a bit confusing, I know. ("Soliloquy")

💬 Examples

One of the iconic examples is the monologue written by Shakespeare in the play Hamlet. The famous line begins with: "To be or not to be, that is the question." In this monologue, Hamlet ponders, whether he should choose the path of revenge after finding out the truth of the death of his father.

Don't mistake

Dialogue

" A dialogue is a discussion between two or more people, while a monologue has an illusion of a conversation and involves a person talking almost to themselves. " ("Monologues in Speech and Composition.")

Monologue

In this example, an inner monologue - it's not a dialog because the characters depicted are actually the same person here. The different appearance of the character is due to the construct of mind.

📚 References

"Monologue definition" Cambridge dictionary, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/canon

"Soliloquy definition" Cambridge dictionary, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/soliloquy

"Monologues in Speech and Composition." Nordquist, Richard. "Monologues in Speech and Composition." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/monologue-speech-and-composition-1691402.

"Soliloquy" Longley, Robert. "What Is a Soliloquy? Literary Definition and Examples." ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/soliloquy-literary-definition-4169546.

Written by: Ta Minh Khoi

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