The Monologue is a type of text that is interpreted or enunciated by just one person. In this way, the speech is made for itself, so that the public, readers or listeners have the feeling of reading the thoughts of their interpreter.
A play can be a monologue, but it can also be just part of a staging in which other characters are present or not. At the time of the monologue, if more actors are on the scene, they do not talk to each other.
Classification
Although the monologue is not exclusive to the theater, it is very common to associate it with the dramatic genre.
According to Patrice Pavis’s Theater Dictionary , the monologue can be:
- Technical – Ideas passed on to the public.
- Lyrical – The character’s speech resembles an emotionally charged confidence.
- of reflection or decision – Faced with a decision, the character reflects and discusses with himself what to do, what decision to make.
We often find only the classification for two types of theatrical monologues : the outer monologue and the inner monologue .
In this sense, the external monologue would be the technical monologue, while the lyrical and reflective monologue would be a reference to the inner monologue.
Examples
“ And you know what?
Every time that suffering comes,
this desire to be close, if far
or closer if close
What do I know?
This feeling weak,
the chest overflowing
with running honey,
this inability to feel myself more, Orpheus;
All of which is quite capable
of confusing a man’s spirit. “
(Excerpt from Monumento de Orfeu, by Vinícius de Moraes)
“ I am a child! I recently arrived from a long journey. I walked the mysterious path of my parents’ thoughts, and, during conception, I did a very happy internship beside my mother’s heart.
Today I’m here, a little scared, because the adults are talking confused things that I still can’t understand. Life is simple and beautiful, but adults complicate everything. “