Can anyone please explain what a monlogue is

[Saltire]

Because it's obviously different to what I thought it was.
DS1 had to do a monolgue for English. His teacher gave him it back and said it was wrong because he "didn't address who he was speaking to, i.e he didn't put "dear audience/mum/friends name etc"

he started it with

"I hate this lifestyle we have, dad always moving around, and making friends then losing them. It's ok for those who live in the same place all the time"


The teacher said he should havestarted it "Ryan(for example) I hate this lifestyle.
I think it doesn't matter?

[Scootergrrrl]

A monologue is where you address another character or the audience directly. What your son has written would probably be classed as a soliloquy, where someone relates their feelings out loud to themself without addressing the characters. Sad for what he's written though.

[Shodan]

I thought it's just a long speech given by one person? The dictionary definition says a soliloquy/literary composition in the form of a soliloquy. I don't recall Hamlet, for e.g, specifically addressing his soliloquies to one person.

Sounds a bit odd, what the teacher wrote. Unless it was marked wrong because he/she had specified that it should be addressed to someone?

I think you're right, anyway.

[Saltire]

Thanks. So how would he introduce an "audience" then. Would he start it with "Oh by the way Ryan ....blah blah"?

[Saltire]

shodan - thats what I thought it was. I didn't realise that an audience ahd to be part of it and that the monolgue had to be directed to an audience. IYSWIM.

I have looked over the homework that's beens et, and it just says " write a monolgue of no more than 600 words"

[Shodan]

The only definition I can see that refers to addressing an audience is the one where a comedian tells a series of jokes/anecdotes to an audience. It doesn't say they address the audience in the way that you would write a letter ie 'Dear audience/whoever'.

One part of the def. says 'any long speech by one person, exp. when interfering with a conversation'.

Can't see anywhere (nor have I ever heard of it being so, although obv my experience is not limitless) that anyone has to be addressed in the way the teacher is suggesting.

[Shodan]

Good lord. Must think of another word for audience. I have used up my quota of usage for that one.

[Saltire]

I've been thinking about those series of Talking Heads that Alan bennet did years ago. Although the person talking was obviously addressing an audience, they didn't acknowledge that they were there.

[elphabadefiesgravity]

Strictly speaking a monologue is a play where there is only one character, like the talking heads mentioned earlier.

However I enter children for speech and drama exams and a monologue has come to mean a solo speech which strictly speaking is a soliloquay. In my extensive library of monologues, sometimes the person/audience being addressed is referred to, often not.

The teacher is incorrect.

[Scootergrrrl]

I think the difference is that a monologue is specifically tailored to the person/people you're speaking to - for example, if he was speaking to you, he would speak about Dad, whereas if he was speaking to someone he didn't know, he might refer to "my dad, who is in the forces" and tailor what he says accordingly.

A soliloquy is more of a "what's in your head coming out of your mouth" thing. Have a look on Wikipedia for an article on the difference.

[elphabadefiesgravity]

A soliloquay is a solo speech, often where a character is speaking to himself but that is part of a play with other characters.

A monologue is self contained or a play with just the one character.

But as I said before monologue has come to mean any solo speech in the exam/audition worls.

[weimy]

Soliloquy, a speech where there are no other characters on stage. The character may be talking to themselves or addressing the audience.

Monologue, a speech where the speaker is talking to other characters onstage but is uninterupted although they will react to the unseen characters.