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. See stream of consciousness
   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

Plath writes in the kind of third-person interior monologue she often used for her short stories and early fiction.

From The Daily Beast

In fact, from the delighted expression on his face, it seemed to set off an interior monologue that you can just about hear.

From The Daily Beast