The term monologue (Latin monologium, also soliloquium, “soliloquy”) in the early modern period meant primarily a dramatic speech, usually of some length, without interruption from other characters, serving to portray the interior life of a dramatic figure. The word was coined (in French, monologue) around 1500 as a pseudo-Greek counterpart to dialogue [3. 629]. Even at this period, following Latin, a distinction was often made between a speech made in the presence of others and a monologue in the strict sense (i.e. spoken alone). This gave ris…