interior monologue

American  

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.

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interior monologue British  

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

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Etymology

Origin of interior monologue

First recorded in 1920–25