What Are Some Famous Dramatic Monologues in English Literature?

The art of creating and delivering a dramatic monologue is a significant aspect of English literature, captivating audiences with its deep emotional impact and intricate psychological exploration. Some of the most renowned dramatic monologues are found in famous works by celebrated authors such as Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, and William Shakespeare again. Let's delve into three notable examples from these remarkable playwrights.

The Monologue from Doctor Faustus

From Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, the protagonist’s monologue is a timeless masterpiece. The dramatic stage direction describes the scene where Faustus laments his fate and desperately pleads with the heavens to dispatch an additional hour before he faces eternal damnation.

FAUSTUS: Ah Faustus. Now hast thou but one bare hour to liven
And then thou must be damned perpetually!
Stand still, you ever-moving spheres of heaven,
That time may cease, and midnight never come!
Fair Nature’s taxi, rise, rise again,
And give perpetual day or let this hour
Be but a year, a month, a week, a day,
That Faustus may repent and save his soul!
O lente, lente curite, noctis equi!
The stars move still. Time runs the clock will strike:
The devil will come and Faustus must be damned.
No, I will leap up to my God! -- Who pulls me down?
See, see, where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament!
One drop would save my soul! -- Ah, my Christ! --
Ah, rend not my heart for naming of my Christ!
Yet will I call on him: O spare me, Lucifer!
Where is it now? 'Tis gone: and see, where God
Stretches out his arm and bends his ireful brows!
Mountains and hills, come, come and fall on men!,
And hide me from the heavy wrath of God!
No, no!
Then will I headlong run into the earth.
Earth, gape! O no, it will not harbour me!
You stars that reigned at my nativity,
Whose influence hath allotted death and hell,
Now draw up Faustus like a foggy mist
Into the entrails of yon labouring cloud,
That when you vomit forth into the air,
My limbs may issue from your smoky mouth
So that my soul may but ascend to heaven.

This monologue, delivered as The clock strikes the half-hour, showcases Faustus's despair and his futile attempts to reconcile his immoral actions with his ultimate redemption. The backdrop of a thundering and lightning-filled night adds to the dramatic intensity, emphasizing Faustus's sense of futility and impending doom.

Monologue During Julius Caesar’s Funeral from Julius Caesar

In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Mark Antony’s speech over Caesar’s body is a powerful example of a dramatic monologue. This speech is renowned for its ability to manipulate the crowd and turn public opinion in favor of Caesar. Despite the fact that Caesars’ assasins, Brutus and Cassius, depict him as an ambitious man, Antony skillfully uses his oratory skills to undermine this argument.

ANTHEONY: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones.
So let it be with Caesar.
The noble Brutus,
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious.
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
and grievously hath Caesar answered it.

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest,
For Brutus is an honorable man;
So are they all; all honorable men.
Come, I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me;
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honorable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
Whose worth was then no price, but now they are
As richness as brings us gold;
He was a tyrant.
Were there not arts
More strange than this, to moved of convicture.
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
And thrice he rejected it: the third stroke
Of

Shakespeare’s masterful use of rhetoric in this monologue is evident in the way Antony picks apart the arguments made by Cassius and Brutus, turning the crowd against the assassins. His speech culminates in a powerful call for justice, leaving the crowd emotionally and intellectually engaged.

The Monologue from The Merchant of Venice

In The Merchant of Venice, the character of Portia is known for her poetic and eloquent speeches, particularly the monologue in which she advocates for mercy. This speech, delivered in the courtroom, is one of the most celebrated in all of Shakespeare's works. Portia's words are a reflection of her character and serve to highlight the themes of mercy and justice.

PORTIA: The quality of mercy is not strained;
it drops as the gentle rain from heaven
upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
it blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
The merequalities of heaven! It is an attribute to God himself;
and earthly power doth then show likest God
when mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this:
that in the course of justice, none of us
should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
and that same prayer doth teach us all
to render the deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
to mitigate the justice of thy pernal
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence gainst the merchant there.

This monologue is not only a plea for mercy but also a meditation on the nature of justice. Through her eloquent and compassionate words, Portia appeals to the heart as well as the conscience of the audience and the court.

In conclusion, these dramatic monologues from English literature stand as timeless examples of the power of the spoken word. Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, and other prominent figures have used their skill to provide powerful insights into their characters and themes. The monologues in these works continue to captivate and inspire readers and listeners alike.