monologue

A monologue is when one person talks for a long time, often with nobody else saying a word. It's like a big speech that they deliver by themselves.

When we talk about a monologue, we usually mean it in the context of theatre or acting. Think of a play where an actor stands on stage and talks to the audience about their thoughts, feelings, or experiences. They might be playing a character who is having some kind of inner turmoil, or maybe they're just telling a story from their past. In these cases, a monologue can be really powerful because it allows the actor to connect with the audience in a deep way.

The word "monologue" comes from the Greek words "mono", meaning one, and "logos", meaning speech. So, in its original sense, a monologue was just any kind of speech or talk that involved one person speaking alone. But when we use it today, we usually mean it specifically in the context of performance arts like theatre or film.

It's worth noting that while "monologue" is often used to describe a single speaker, there are cases where two people have a back-and-forth conversation with each other, but one person speaks for an unusually long time. In these cases, we might call it a monologue too. But in general, when you hear the word "monologue", think of someone standing alone on stage, talking away to themselves or the audience.