Dramatic monologue is a type of poetry written in the form of a speech of an individual character.

M.H. Abrams Meyer Howard Abrams (July 23, 1912 – April 21, 2015), usually cited as M. H. Abrams, was an American literary critic, known for works on romanticism, in particular his book ''The Mirror and the Lamp''. Under Abrams's editorship, ''The Norton A ...

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 Enlightenment ideas of the 18t ...

. 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 poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

's ''

Tintern Abbey Tintern Abbey ( cy, Abaty Tyndyrn ) was founded on 9 May 1131 by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow. It is situated adjacent to the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye, which at this location forms the bor ...

'' and

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was 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 during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

's ''

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

'', 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 The conversation poems are a group of at least eight poems composed by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) between 1795 and 1807. Each details a particular life experience which led to the poet's examination of nature and the role of poetry. Th ...

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

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). Two of her opening lines, "The boy stood on the burning deck" and "The stately homes of England", have acquired classic statu ...

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. The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...

, beginning in the latter's case with her long poem ''The Improvisatrice''.Serena Baiesi. ''Letitia Elizabeth Landon and Metrical Romance'', 2009, p.56-58. 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 fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...

's ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

'', 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, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

'' The Fall'' and

Mohsin Hamid Mohsin Hamid ( ur, محسن حامد; born 23 July 1971) is a British Pakistani novelist, writer and brand consultant. His novels are '' Moth Smoke'' (2000), '' The Reluctant Fundamentalist'' (2007), ''How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia'' (2 ...

'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 Stu ...

''.

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 his ...

's ''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'', 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 (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in a ...

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

Idylls of the King ''Idylls of the King'', published between 1859 and 1885, is a Literature cycle, 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 knig ...

''. *

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lite ...

's ''

Dover Beach "Dover Beach" is a lyric poem by the English poet Matthew Arnold. It was first published in 1867 in the collection ''New Poems''; however, surviving notes indicate its composition may have begun as early as 1849. The most likely date is 1851.Al ...

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

scepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, 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 poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

produced his most famous work in this form. While ''

My Last Duchess "My Last Duchess" is a poem by Robert Browning, frequently anthologised as an example of the dramatic monologue. It first appeared in 1842 in Browning's '' Dramatic Lyrics''. The poem is composed in 28 rhyming couplets of iambic pentameter. In ...

'' is the most famous of his monologues, the form dominated his writing career. ''

The Ring and the Book ''The Ring and the Book'' is a long dramatic narrative poem, and, more specifically, a verse novel, of 21,000 lines, written by Robert Browning. It was published in four volumes from 1868 to 1869 by Smith, Elder & Co. Plot outline The boo ...

'', '' Fra Lippo Lippi'', ''

Caliban upon Setebos ''Caliban upon Setebos'' is a poem written by the British poet Robert Browning and published in his 1864 ''Dramatis Personae'' collection. It deals with Caliban, a character from Shakespeare's '' The Tempest'', and his reflections on Setebos, the ...

'', ''

Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister" is a soliloquy written by Robert Browning, first published in his collection '' Dramatic Lyrics'' (1842). It is written in the voice of an unnamed Spanish monk. The poem consists of nine eight-line stanzas and i ...

'' and ''

Porphyria's Lover "Porphyria's Lover" is a poem by Robert Browning which was first published as "Porphyria" in the January 1836 issue of ''Monthly Repository''. Browning later republished it in ''Dramatic Lyrics'' (1842) paired with "Johannes Agricola in Meditat ...

'', 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 Brotherhoo ...

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

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

wrote a number, including ''The Convent Threshold.''

Augusta Webster Augusta Webster (30 January 1837 – 5 September 1894) born in Poole, Dorset as Julia Augusta Davies, was an England, English poet, dramatist, essayist, and translation, translator. Biography Augusta was the daughter of Vice-admiral George Dav ...

'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 several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...

's ''

Hymn to Proserpine “Hymn to Proserpine” is a poetry, 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 dis ...

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

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 myste ...

. Post-Victorian examples include

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

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

Elizabeth Bishop Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American people, 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 N ...

's ''Crusoe in England'', and

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National B ...

's ''

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", commonly known as "Prufrock", is the first professionally published poem by American-born British poet T. S. Eliot (1888–1965). Eliot began writing "Prufrock" in February 1910, and it was first publishe ...

'' 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 ' ...

''.

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

See also

References

Sources