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Analyzing a Comedic monologue
ACTIvITy 4.3
Learning Targets
• Evaluate the ideas, structure, and use of language in a comedic monologue performance.
• Evaluate a comedic monologue and create a humorous effect in a written response.
• Write a comedic monologue with effective ideas, structure, and language.
The Oral Tradition
Sharing information and stories begins with oral communication. The oral tradition of telling and listening to stories is an ancient art form that has a modern expression in drama. Actors, though, are not the only people who communicate orally. The art of expressing yourself orally is probably one of the most important communication skills you can master.
1. Quickwrite: Think about speeches or dialogue by characters you may have seen on television. What made them catch your attention? What was interesting or memorable about them?
Performance is a way of honing your ability to communicate with others by making physical and vocal choices in order to convey a certain idea, feeling, or tone.
Tone, which you studied in the last unit, is a writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject.
As you discovered in the previous activity, oral interpretation involves understanding a literary text and then using your voice (through volume, rate,
and inflection) to best convey its meaning. Another type of oral performance is
a monologue. A monologue is an extended speech, written from the first-person point of view, in which a performer presents his or her—or a character’s—thoughts on a subject.
Word Monologues have a certain structure: a beginning that hooks the reader, a middle CoNNeCTIoNs
ACAdemIC voCAbUlAry
Structure refers to the
arrangement of the parts of
something. In this usage,
structure is a noun. In its
verb form, to structure
something is to build
or construct or arrange
in a definite pattern or
organization.
that sequences and develops ideas, and an end that offers a conclusion. Content is tailored to the purpose and audience. Because monologues are written to be performed, they sometimes contain stage directions (italicized instructions for physical and/or oral delivery in parentheses) and line or paragraph numbers. Monologues can be humorous or dramatic, as you will see.
Roots and Affixes
Monologue comes from the Greek words mono, meaning “one,” and logos, meaning “words, speech, or reason.”
This combination of words conveys the idea that a monologue is a speech by one person. The root mono- is also found in words such as monorail, monogamy, and monochromatic.
Unit 4 • How We Choose to Act 261
leArNING sTrATeGIes:
Word Map, Note-taking, Quickwrite, Discussion Groups, Graphic Organizer, Drafting
literary Terms
A monologue is a speech or written expression of thoughts by a character and is always written from the first-person point of view.
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