REPRESENTATION OF MONOLOGIC SPEECH IN ENGLISH LITERARY WORKS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65164/ydx6j656Keywords:
monologic speech, interior monologue, dramatic monologue, English literature, narrative discourse, stylistics, character voice, cognitive narratology.\Abstract
This article examines the linguistic, stylistic, and narratological features of monologic speech in English literary works. As a central mechanism for revealing character psychology, constructing narrative authority, and shaping reader interpretation, monologic discourse has evolved across literary periods—from the classical dramatic monologue to modernist interior monologue and contemporary hybrid forms. Drawing on the theories of Bakhtin, Chatman, Leech & Short, and cognitive stylistics, this study analyses how monologic forms such as interior monologue, dramatic monologue, and extended authorial commentary function within selected texts by Shakespeare, Robert Browning, Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce. The research employs qualitative textual analysis to identify syntactic markers, discourse strategies, and representational patterns. Findings show that monologic speech operates not only as a stylistic device for personal revelation but also as a narrative strategy that manipulates focalization, temporal structure, and ideological positioning. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how monologic discourse mediates between character consciousness and narrative meaning in English literature.
References
1. Bakhtin, M. (1981). The Dialogic Imagination. University of Texas Press.
2. Bradley, A. C. (1904). Shakespearean Tragedy. Macmillan.
3. Chatman, S. (1978). Story and Discourse. Cornell University Press.
4. Cohn, D. (1978). Transparent Minds: Narrative Modes for Presenting Consciousness in Fiction.
Princeton University Press.
5. Fludernik, M. (1996). Towards a “Natural” Narratology. Routledge.
6. Genette, G. (1980). Narrative Discourse. Cornell University Press.
7. Humphrey, R. (1954). Stream of Consciousness in the Modern Novel. University of California
Press.
8. Langbaum, R. (1957). The Poetry of Experience. Random House.
9. Leech, G., & Short, M. (2007). Style in Fiction. Pearson Longman.
10. Woolf, V. (1925). Mrs. Dalloway. Hogarth Press.
