Monologues

Carballido begins I, Too, Speak of the Rose with a lengthy monologue by the Medium, which sets the tone for the rest of this one-act play. The action is often stopped and explanation is made of what is happening, or commentary is heard on the significance of it. This approach goes back to the Greek theater, when the action of the play occurred offstage. Often it was the Chorus that explained what had happened and at times the importance of it, before the main characters responded to the news and anguished over outcomes.

Monologues are found in Shakespeare's work often, like Hamlet's gloomy monologues or Macbeth's tortured ones. With these, the audience finds out more of what is happening within the mind of the character. A contemporary example of the use of monologue is found in Tennessee William's Glass Menagerie when Tom Wingfield engages in lengthy monologues as...