interior monologue

noun

1. Literature. a form of stream-of-consciousness writing that represents the inner thoughts of a character.
2. Movies, Television. the device of showing a character on screen who does not appear to speak, although the character's voice is heard on the soundtrack to create the illusion that the audience is hearing the character's thoughts.

interior monologue

noun

1. a literary attempt to present the mental processes of a character before they are formed into regular patterns of speech or logical sequence See also stream of consciousness

Word History and Origins

Origin of interior monologue¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Lines that could be from a transcript of a tetchy interpersonal skirmish will be followed by a pensive fragment plucked from some regretful or aggrieved interior monologue.

From New York Times

Lawyers appearing before the court sometimes resented his elaborate hypothetical questions, which could resemble an interior monologue with a point discernible only to him.

From New York Times

Sheila’s interior monologue, the show’s most prominent stylistic device, is a constant slam not only of herself but also of the shallowness, stupidity and ugliness of nearly everyone around her.

From New York Times

In the manner of many one-man plays, “Typical” is a continuous interior monologue; the Alder character narrates his day as if keeping a minute-by-minute journal in lightly rhymed, high-spirited verse.

From New York Times

In the signature moment, Charlie Brown keeps up an unflagging interior monologue as he attempts to steal home and is ignominiously tagged out, a victim of his own crippling self-consciousness.

From New York Times