Monologue - History

History

In ancient Greek theatre, the origin of western drama, the conventional three actor rule was preceded by a two actor rule, which was itself preceded by a convention in which only a single actor would appear on stage, accompanied by the chorus. The origin of the monologue as a dramatic device, therefore, is not rooted in dialogue. It is, instead, the other way around; dialogue evolved from monologue.

Ancient Roman theatre featured monologues extensively, more often than either Ancient Greek theatre or modern theatre. One of the key purposes of these monologues was to indicate the passage of significant amounts of time (that would be tedious to actually play out in real time) within scenes. This type of monologue is referred to as a linking monologue. Other monologue types included "entrance monologues" and exit monologues. In each of these cases a primary function is indicating the passage of time.

From Renaissance theatre onward, monologues generally focused on characters using the extended speech to pursue their dramatic need. Postmodern theatre, on the other hand, often embraces the performative aspects of the monologue, even to the point of challenging the boundary between character portrayal (e.g. acting) and autobiographical speeches.