Dramatic monologue

A poem spoken by an imagined character whose words reveal their situation, feelings and personality.

A poem spoken by an imagined character to a listener, revealing the speaker’s attitudes and personality.

For example, My Last Duchess and Remains both use dramatic monologues: a character speaks and reveals something about himself. The Duke dominates an encounter with a silent listener, whereas Armitage’s soldier reveals that he cannot control his memories. Their shared form therefore exposes contrasting relationships with power.

A poem spoken by a single character to an implied listener, revealing the speaker’s personality and attitudes.

Distinguish Armitage from the soldier who speaks: the dramatic monologue gives a character’s perspective on combat.

Distinguish the mother’s voice from Weir’s own voice: the poem is a crafted dramatic monologue, not a straightforward autobiography.

Distinguish the speaker’s attitudes from the poet’s presentation of them, especially in dramatic monologues.

A poem spoken by a fictional character to an implied listener, revealing the speaker’s personality through what they say and how they say it.

A poem spoken by an imagined character whose words reveal their experiences, attitudes or personality.

A poem spoken by an imagined character whose speech reveals their experiences, personality or feelings.

A poem spoken by an imagined character whose words reveal their feelings and situation.

A poem spoken by a single speaker whose words reveal their attitudes, experiences and character.

A poem spoken by a character whose account reveals their personality and attitudes.

A poem spoken by a fictional character whose account reveals their personality, attitudes and situation.

A poem presented as the speech of a particular character, whose words reveal their personality and attitudes.

A poem spoken by a fictional character whose words reveal their personality, situation and attitudes.

A poem spoken by an imagined character to a listener, revealing the speaker’s personality and attitudes.

A poem spoken by an imagined character whose account reveals their personality, attitudes or situation.

A poem spoken by an imagined character to a listener, revealing the speaker’s personality through what they say.

A dramatic monologue can expose a character without the poet directly condemning them. The Duke’s uninterrupted speech contrasts with Cope’s two parallel voices: Browning restricts access to one viewpoint, while Cope lets readers correct each speaker’s mistake. Armitage also uses a partner’s voice, but the gradual progression centres attention on another person’s vulnerability.

A poem in which one speaker addresses a listener, revealing their character and feelings through their speech.

A poem in which a fictional speaker addresses a listener, revealing their character through what they say and how they say it.

A poem in which an imagined speaker’s account reveals their character, feelings or attitudes.

A poem in which one imagined character speaks to an implied listener, revealing their personality and thoughts.

A poem spoken by a single imagined character to a listener whose response is not heard, revealing the speaker’s situation, feelings and character.

A poem spoken by a character to an implied listener, revealing the character’s feelings and perspective.

A poem spoken by a particular character whose words reveal their experiences, feelings or attitudes.

A dramatic monologue gives a character the speaking voice, as in Cousin Kate and Remains; it invites us to interpret the character’s words rather than assume they are the poet’s own confession.

A poem in which an imagined speaker addresses a listener, revealing their experiences, feelings and character.

A poem spoken by a character whose account reveals their experiences, attitudes and emotions.

A poem spoken by a particular character whose account reveals their experiences, thoughts or feelings.

A poem spoken by a single imagined character, whose account reveals their perspective and attitudes.

A poem in which a single speaker addresses an implied listener, revealing their situation and attitudes.

A poem spoken by a single imagined character whose words reveal their situation and feelings.

A poem spoken by a particular character whose words reveal their personality and attitudes, sometimes more than they realise.

A poem spoken by an imagined character whose speech reveals their situation, thoughts and feelings.

Definition

How each exam board covers it

AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702

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Edexcel GCSE English Literature · 1ET0

OCR GCSE English Literature · J352

Eduqas GCSE English Literature · C720