In
theatre, a
monologue (from
Greek μονόλογος from μόνος
mónos, "alone, solitary" and λόγος
lógos, "speech") is presented by a single
character, most often to express their mental thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the
audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media (
plays,
films, etc.), as well as in non-dramatic media such as
poetry. Monologues share much in common with several other literary devices including
soliloquies,
apostrophes, and
aside. There are, however, distinctions between each of these devices.