Task 20: Dramatic Monologue

A fond (?) farewell to rhythm and meter for the time being...

For the next few tasks, we shall be concentrating on drama - and script-writing.

To start with, I would like us all to produce a piece of dramatic monologue.

The word Monologue comes from the Greek meaning ALONE (mono) SPEECH (logue). Similarly, the Latin language gave us Soliloquy, which also means the same. You can probably find lots of words in the English language which borrow one or other of these roots, e.g.: monocle, monocycle, monotonous, monochrome, dialogue, epilogue, prologue, solo, solitary, loquacious, eloquent etc.

So a piece of drama which we might call a monologue is, quite simply, a piece of drama spoken by only one person. Often, a monologue will be spoken in the absence of any other characters - like the opening to Willy Russell's play Shirley Valentine, in which a disgruntled housewife spends several minutes literally talking to the wall. The same is true, for example, in Alan Bennett's famous monologues, the Talking Heads series, in which the characters, alone in the film, simply speak to the camera.

This is an excellent way of providing a window into the thoughts and mind of a character, since they can betray and reveal information about themselves that dialogue with others would prevent. It is also a particularly direct (and therefore engaging) address of the audience, to which it is hard not to want to respond. Whilst a monologue performed badly can be boring beyond compare, performed well a solitary actor can mesmerise an entire theatre or cinema auditorium.

Sometimes, in a play involving several characters, one character might give a speech on their own - either to another character(s) or sometimes simply to the audience - and this delivery without interruption from other characters is usually called a soliloquy: slightly different from a play consisting entirely of monologue, but the same principle really.

So what makes a good monologue? Well, before I try and explain, it might be useful for you to look at the three following extracts, each taken from movies which consist at least in part of scripted monologue or soliloquy. Also, remember the play The Glass Menagerie, which we saw at the theatre in the summer? Tom Wingfield had several lengthy soliloquys there too...

1. You need to develop and sustain a unique and appropriate STYLE OF SPEECH for your chosen character. Both the VOCABULARY they choose and the DIALECT they use need to reflect the person they are.
2. It can be very useful to design a BACKSTORY. In other words, even though your monologue itself might only cover certain things, the more you know about your character's GENERAL LIFE and what makes them TICK, the more convincing the whole piece will be.
3. A decent monologue never rambles or waffles; there is always a clear THREAD, and deliberate use of TENSION and NARRATIVE STRUCTURE to keep the audience listening and watching. A CLIMAX is essential, as is an arresting OPENING.
4. Have fun with LANGUAGE - and with the character you have created. They can do/be/say anything you like, and so it is a shame to squander the opportunity by having someone cliched or unoriginal. So think long and hard about WHO they will be.
5. You should introduce your monologue with a short amount of DESCRIPTION about the APPEARANCE of the character and the SETTING of the piece. This would be written in ITALICS. (Look at my attempt to see what I mean.) Also, you can include STAGE DIRECTIONS (again in italics, and in brackets too), to give your actor more information about HOW to read the part. N.B. All stage directions must be in the PRESENT TENSE.
   
6. Lastly, remember that, unlike in prose fiction, there is NO NARRATOR. All the information we are given needs to come from the character's mouth (or appearance). Think about this when writing it: too much information, and it will become boring; too little, and we will be confused. This is DRAMA. This is THEATRE (or CINEMA). This is for PERFORMANCE.
   

For TASK 20, I am not necessarily looking for tremendous length - in fact, your monologue for this task should be between 300-400 words.

Now it is down to you. My example(s) will follow shortly...

Your deadline, as you know, is MIDNIGHT on SATURDAY 23RD FEBRUARY.

Good luck... :)