Definition and Examples of Monologues

A monologue is a  speech or composition  presenting the words or thoughts of a single character. (Compare with dialogue.) Someone who delivers a monologue is called a monologuist or monologist. Leonard Peters describes a monologue as a dialogue between two people. One person speaking, the other listening and reacting, creating a relationship between the two (Demystifying the Monologue, 2006). 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. Youd come down on a chartered bus — and youd 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 dogs 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 assemb led 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) Monologues and Dialogues A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. Thats why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.​  (Truman Capote)There is no such thing as conversation. It is an illusion. There are intersecting monologues, that is all. We speak; we spread round us with sounds, with words, an emanation from ourselves. Sometimes they overlap the circles that others are spreading around themselves. They they are affected by those other circles, to be sure, but not because of any real communication that has taken place, merely as a scarf of blue chiffon lying on a womans dressing table will change colour if she casts down on it a scarf of red chiffon.​  (Rebecca West, There Is No Conversation. The Harsh Voice, 1935) Two Versions of Hamlets Famous Monologue (Modernized Spelling) 1603 Version (Bad Quarto) To be, or not to be, aye theres the point, To die, to sleep, is that all? Aye, all. No, to sleep, to dream, aye, marry, there it goes, For in that dream of death, when we awake, And born before an everlasting judge, From whence no passenger ever returned, The undiscovered country, at whose sight The happy smile, and the accursed damned. But for this, the joyful hope of this. Whod bear the scorns and flattery of the world, Scorned by the right rich, the rich cursed of the poor? The widow being oppressed, the orphan wronged, The taste of hunger, or a tyrants reign, And thousand more calamities besides, To grunt and sweat under this weary life, When that he may his full quietus make, With a bare bodkin, who would this endure, But for a hope of something after death? Which puzzles the brain, and doth confound the sense, Which makes us rather bear those evils we have, Than fly to others that we know not of. Aye that--O this conscience makes cowards of us all. 1604-1605 Version (Second Quarto)To be, or not to be, that is the question:Whether tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep —No more--and by a sleep to say we endThe heartache and the thousand natural shocksThat flesh is heir to! Tis a consummationDevoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep —To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, theres the rub,For in that sleep of death what dreams may comeWhen we have shuffled off this mortal coil,Must give us pause. Theres the respectThat makes calamity of so long life:For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,The oppressors wrong, the proud mans contumely,The pangs of despised love, the laws delay,The insolence of office, and the spurnsThat patient merit of the unworthy takes,When he himself might his quietus makeWith a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,To grunt and sweat under a weary life,But that the dread of som ething after death,The undiscovered country from whose bournNo traveller returns, puzzles the will,And makes us rather bear those ills we haveThan fly to others that we know not of?br/>Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,And thus the native hue of resolutionIs sicklied over with the pale cast of thought,And enterprises of great pitch and momentWith this regard their currents turn awryAnd lose the name of action.(William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act Three, scene 1) The Lighter Side of Monologues You know, there are some things that are actually harder to do with two people. Like, monologues.(Tina Fey as Liz Lemon in 30 Rock, 2006) Pronunciation: MA-neh-log Also Known As: dramatic soliloquy Alternate Spellings: monolog

The Freedom Of Speech Through The First Amendment Essay

According to the Bill of Rights, we are afforded the freedom of speech through the first amendment. But this awarding of freedom is only allowed if it goes along with what the general population deems â€Å"normal†. During the middle part of the 1900’s many books were banned on political, religious, and moral views. While our society has changed these issues are still prevalent in today’s public views and opinions of author’s work. These books are not â€Å"normal† and that is why they play an unprecedented part in literature today. Books written in this era had a different political, religious, and moral atmosphere than those written in the modern day; but these same issues arise in today’s society. The history of the United States has had extraordinary highs but also has been marred by dark times by movements and figures. A great example of my previous statement is the decade of the 1950’s. The 1950’s was a time of scrutiny. McCarthyism and the Red Scare was at a fever pitch. The Civil Rights Movement had not even been conceived. Also, the people were jumping out of the frying pan into the fire in a sense because of just getting out of World War II and entering the Korean War. The first controversial book I would like to talk about is The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger published in 1951. The Catcher in the Rye is about Holden Caulfield’s life as a 16-year-old recluse in New York City trying to find his way in life and his rebellion against the norm (Salinger).Show MoreRelatedThe Amendment And Freedom Of Speech1545 Words   |  7 Pages The 1st amendment was made to guarantee freedoms in the field of expression assembly, religion, and ones rights to petition. It prohibits congress men from promoting ones religious practices and also supporting ones faith over another. It also forbids the congress men from disturbing and obscuring the freedom of the press to express itself and also the freedom of speech per individual. 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My Opinion On Relationships is Simple free essay sample

My opinion on relationships is simple. Once you found the right person don’t go down with out a fight. This is how you know you found the right one. 1st thing is that person is here to talk to you when you are about to do something stupid or dumb resulting in trouble. 2nd is that the person knows what makes you tick, what makes you sad and mad also makes you worry. 3rd is that person knows what to say and do when you are sad or mad. 4th is that person makes all your worries go away when you kiss them or when you are around them. 5th is that person makes you feel safe no matter the situation. 6th is that person says I love you at the beginning of a phone conversation and at the end of the conversation. 7th is that no matter the problems that go on you try to work things out. We will write a custom essay sample on My Opinion On Relationships is Simple or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 8th you make sure you both get your point across and love is there make sure of that because love grows into a wonderful thing that words can’t describe. So listen to my words when I say love is a grate thing because it can bring pain, happiness but in the end the thing better yet the emotion is so invigorating, that you will want more. That is love and you will experience it someday.

Pride And Prejudice By Austen Essays - Humour, Pride And Prejudice

Pride And Prejudice By Austen Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular novels written by Jane Austen. This romantic novel, the story of which revolves around relationships and the difficulties of being in love, was not much of a success in Austen's own time. However, it has grown in its importance to literary critics and readerships over the last hundred years. There are many facets to the story that make reading it not only amusing but also highly interesting. The reader can learn much about the upper-class society of this age, and also gets an insight to the author's opinion about this society. Austen presents the high-society of her time from an observational point of view, ironically describing human behavior. She describes what she sees and adds her own comments to it in a very light and easy way. She never seems to be condescending or snubbing in her criticism but applies it in a playful manner. This playfulness, and her witty, ironic comments on society are probably the main reasons that make this novel still so enjoyable for readers today. Some rules and characteristics depicted in the story seem very peculiar and are hard to conceive by people of our generation. Nevertheless, the descriptions of the goings-on in that society are so lively and sparkling with irony that most people cannot help but like the novel. Jane Austen applies irony on different levels in her novel Pride and Prejudice. She uses various means of making her opinion on 18th century society known to the reader through her vivid and ironic descriptions used in the book. To bring this paper into focus, I will discuss two separate means of applying irony, as pertaining to a select few of the book's characters. The novel is introduced by an omniscient narrator, unknown to the reader, who describes and comments on the given situations throughout the novel. The narrator serves to represent and speak for Jane Austen, enabling her to aim her criticism not only through the characters, but also in a more direct fashion. She uses this unspecified person, who is outside of all the novel's action and gives explanations, as a medium of communication to present her own opinion in an allusively open way. This narrator is the first means of making ironic remarks. Through the narrator a certain mood is created that prevails throughout the novel. The very first sentence of the novel shows this with the following sentence, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" (Pride and Prejudice, p. 3). The irony of this statement is the universal validity with which assumptions are made in that upper-class society. It is assumed that there is nothing else for a man of high rank to want but a wife to complete his possessions. Along with his money, land, riches etc. she acts as nothing more but another piece of property, which was a common attitude in those days. Austen manages to make the attitude towards matrimony upheld by this upper class look rather ridiculous and incredible. Another ironic description is given, for instance, when Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst take care of the sick Jane, who stays at their house. They present themselves as very affectionate and caring friends to Jane. However, that does not stop them from talking very bad about Jane's relations. The real ironic comment is that the narrator lets us readers know that after those two ladies have finished bad mouthing Jane's sister Elizabeth and the rest of her family, they return to Jane "(w)ith a renewal of tenderness" (p. 27). These high-society women are well versed at putting others down and whimsically, and as they think wittily, insulting the characters of those who are of a "lower class" - and Austen comments on it ironically by describing their behavior with irony. Through the narrator, Austen shows us how fickle this society is; being based on class and rank. The narrator exposes the vanities and its stupidity rather drastically. The comment on Aunt Phillips who "would hardly have resented a comparison with the housekeeper's room" (p. 56) of Rosing's with her own living-room is so ironically bitter that it even borders on being mean. These are only a few examples to show how the general ironic mood of the novel is created. The second means of creating irony in the novel is through the particular use of the characters involved. Elizabeth Bennet is the main character of