A monologue (or monolog) is an extended uninterrupted speech by a character in a drama. The character may be speaking his or her thoughts aloud, directly addressing another character, or speaking to the audience, especially the former. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media (plays, films, animation, etc.).

Interior monologue

The "interior monologue" is a technical device in narrative. It renders a character's thoughts in the present tense, omitting speech markers such as "he thought" and quotation marks. Although the terms are often confused, it can be distinguished from the stream of consciousness device by its relatively structured syntax and possibility of the monologist's addressing himself. Also, the interior monologue is different from present-tense first-person narration, in which the narrator is aware that he is telling a story. The device allows a rendition of a character's thoughts and emotions more intimate than traditional forms of narration, since it lays the character's thoughts open to all readers.

Outstanding examples in twentieth-century fiction include James Joyce’s Ulysses, Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and The Waves, William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, J.D Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and several novellas by Arthur Schnitzler.