An extended speech by a single character, delivered to other characters or the audience, that reveals their thoughts, arguments, or emotions.
A monologue is a prolonged speech by one character within a narrative. Unlike a soliloquy (which is spoken to oneself), a monologue is addressed to other characters or, in the case of theater, to the audience. Monologues serve all sorts of purposes: persuading, confessing, explaining, threatening, or simply holding the floor. They're moments where one voice dominates, and when done right, they're some of the most electrifying passages in fiction.
Monologues are a pressure test for your character voice. When one character speaks at length, every word choice, rhythm, and digression has to sound authentically like them. If your monologue could be delivered by any character in your story interchangeably, your character voices need work. A strong monologue also controls pacing - it can slow a scene to a deliberate crawl or build momentum toward a breaking point.
The 'To be, or not to be' speech is often called a monologue, though it's technically closer to a soliloquy. The 'What a piece of work is man' speech, delivered to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, is a true monologue.
Colonel Jessup's 'You can't handle the truth' monologue is a masterclass in persuasive-confessional hybrid - a character who can't stop himself from revealing everything.
Sethe's monologue explaining why she killed her daughter is devastating precisely because it makes her reasoning emotionally comprehensible.
Even in a monologue, other characters exist. Brief interruptions, body language cues, or the speaker noticing the listener's reaction keeps the scene alive.
If a character launches into a speech that's really just the author explaining plot mechanics, readers will feel the seams. Monologues should feel emotionally driven, not informationally convenient.
A nervous character digresses and backtracks. A confident one builds to a crescendo. An intellectual one uses elaborate metaphors. Match the style of the monologue to the character delivering it.
Write a one-page monologue where a character explains to someone why they're about to do something the listener thinks is a terrible idea. The character genuinely believes they're making a good argument, but write it so the reader can see the flaws in their reasoning. Don't have the listener respond - let the monologue speak for itself.