Dramatic monologue is a type of poetry written in the form of a speech of an individual character. M.H. Abrams notes the following three features of the ''dramatic monologue'' as it applies to poetry:

Types of dramatic monologue

One of the most important influences on the development of the dramatic monologue is

romantic poetry Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Neoclassical ideas of the 18th c ...

. However, the long, personal lyrics typical of the Romantic period are not dramatic monologues, in the sense that they do not, for the most part, imply a concentrated narrative. Poems such as

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

's ''

Tintern Abbey Tintern Abbey ( ) is a ruined medieval abbey situated adjacent to the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye, which at this location forms the border between Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England. ...

'' and

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

's ''

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

'', to name two famous examples, offered a model of close psychological observation and philosophical or pseudo-philosophical inquiry described in a specific setting. The conversation poems of

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

are perhaps a better precedent. The genre was also developed by

Felicia Hemans Felicia Dorothea Hemans (25 September 1793 – 16 May 1835) was an English poet (who identified as Welsh by adoption). Regarded as the leading female poet of her day, Hemans was immensely popular during her lifetime in both England and the Unit ...

and

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. Landon's writings are emblematic of the transition from Romanticism to Victorian literature. Her first major b ...

, beginning in the latter's case with her long poem ''The Improvisatrice''. The novel and plays have also been important influences on the dramatic monologue, particularly as a means of characterization. Dramatic monologues are a way of expressing the views of a character and offering the audience greater insight into that character's feelings. Dramatic monologues can also be used in novels to tell stories, as in

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

's ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

'', and to implicate the audience in moral judgements, as in

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

' '' The Fall'' and Mohsin Hamid's ''

The Reluctant Fundamentalist ''The Reluctant Fundamentalist'' is a "metafictional"Madiou, Mohamed Salah Eddine. "Mohsin Hamid Engages the World in The Reluctant Fundamentalist: 'An Island on an Island,’ Worlds in Miniature and 'Fiction' in the Making". Arab Studies Quart ...

''.

Examples

The Victorian period represented the high point of the dramatic monologue in English poetry. *

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

's '' Ulysses'', published in 1842, has been called the first true dramatic monologue. After ''Ulysses'', Tennyson's most famous efforts in this vein are ''Tithonus'', ''The Lotos-Eaters,'' and ''St. Simon Stylites,'' all from the 1842 ''

Poems Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

''; later monologues appear in other volumes, notably ''

Idylls of the King ''Idylls of the King'', published between 1859 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892; Poet Laureate from 1850) which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love f ...

''. *

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold (academic), Tom Arnold, literary professor, and Willi ...

's '' Dover Beach'' and ''Stanzas from the Grand Chartreuse'' are famous, semi-autobiographical monologues. The former, usually regarded as the supreme expression of the growing

scepticism Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...

of the mid-Victorian period, was published along with the latter in 1867's ''New Poems.'' *

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

produced his most famous work in this form. While '' My Last Duchess'' is the most famous of his monologues, the form dominated his writing career. ''

The Ring and the Book ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', '' Fra Lippo Lippi'', '' Caliban upon Setebos'', '' Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister'' and '' Porphyria's Lover'', as well as the other poems in '' Men and Women'' are just a handful of Browning's monologues. Other Victorian poets also used the form.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...

wrote several, including ''Jenny'' and ''The Blessed Damozel'';

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romanticism, romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well k ...

wrote a number, including ''The Convent Threshold.'' Augusta Webster's ''A Castaway,'' ''Circe'', and ''The Happiest Girl in the World'', Amy Levy's ''Xantippe'' and ''A Minor Poet,'' and

's ''Arabella Stuart'' and ''Properzia Rossi'' are all exemplars of this technique.

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

's ''

Hymn to Proserpine "Hymn to Proserpine" is a poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne, published in '' Poems and Ballads'' in 1866. The poem is addressed to the goddess Proserpina, the Roman equivalent of Persephone, but laments the rise of Christianity for displacing the ...

'' has been called a dramatic monologue vaguely reminiscent of Browning's work. Some American poets have also written poems in the genre—famous examples include

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

's "

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...

". Post-Victorian examples include

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

's ''The Gift of Harun al-Rashid'',

Elizabeth Bishop Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the National Book Awar ...

's ''Crusoe in England'', and

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

's '' The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'' and ''

Gerontion "Gerontion" is a poem by T. S. Eliot that was first published in 1920 in ''Ara Vos Prec'' (his volume of collected poems published in London) and ''Poems'' (an almost identical collection published simultaneously in New York).Gallup, Donald ''T ...

''.

Studies

A major study of the dramatic monologue was published in 1977 by Alan Sinfield.

References

Sources

* * *{{cite book , author=Arco Publishing , title=Arco Master the Ap English Language & Composition Test 2003 (Master the Ap English Language & Composition Test) , publisher=Arco , location=New York , year=2002 , page
288
, isbn=0-7689-0991-0 , url-access=registration , url=https://archive.org/details/masterapenglishl00roza Drama Genres of poetry

Types of dramatic monologue

Examples

Studies

See also

References

Sources