American Literature / Unit 1 AML 0024 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Dramatic Monologue
Captions available
The idea
A dramatic monologue is dramatic because it is a speech delivered to a listener and a monologue because no one else talks, in the glossary's formulation. The listener is present and silent, the occasion specific, and the speaker reveals more than intended. Browning's "My Last Duchess" models it.
In practice
One speaker, one silent listener, one revealing occasion.
Where people slip
The speaker's self-betrayal is the point.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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