The dramatic monologue is traditionally associated with Victorian poets such as Robert Browning and Alfred Tennyson, and is generally considered to have disappeared with the onset of modernism in the twentieth century. Glennis Byron unravels its history and argues that, contrary to belief, the monologue remains popular to this day. This far-reaching and neatly structured volume:

* explores the origins of the monologue and presents a history of definitions of the term
* considers the monologue as a form of social critique
* explores issues at play in our understanding of the genre, such as subjectivity, gender and politics
* traces the development of the genre through to the present day.

Taking as example the increasingly politicized nature of contemporary poetry, the author clearly and succinctly presents an account of the monologue's growing popularity over the past twenty years.