Kay-Marie.

Webster

Key (Underline) (...) ( ( ) ) Stressed word Micro Pause 1.0 Rising Tone Falling Tone Direction

(Italic)

Funeral Monologue 1. (Young blond woman enters the bathroom wearing an all black suit. Walks to the mirror and splashes water on her face from the tap and stares at her reflection.)

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

why am I here ... I could have just stayed at home ... but nooooo... even Charlie Sheens funeral would have more genuine mourners grrr ... the old tyrant ... god I got a hankerin for a fag (wets her hands an rubs her forehead with shaky hand) should have never given up ... those bleedin leaches ... damn mourners ... I had to be his only living family... they say their sorry for my loss they say he will be sadly missed they say he was a great man and was taken too soon my opinion ... not soon enough there has been no loss and I will certainly not miss my father ... the Great Marcus Andrew OBrian ... hah! the old playboy left a trail of disastrous mess behind him as big as the Grand Canyon ... no joke (although she suddenly lets a girly laugh escape her lips) nothing grand about my old man (she sneered to her reflection as if watching a distant memory unfold on her features) I just had to listen to not one ... no not one ... god forbid but six ex wives talk as if he was an angel gods gift to mankind (laughs to self) he was a loving man number six said. I anticipate the bubble headed bimbo will wake up from her dream world ... one day the bubble headed blond (laughs at her own humour) (suddenly she draws in a weary breath) none have seen his last will and testament what a shock that will be ... (she stares at her reflection for a second and a hint of emotion reflects in her eyes) god ... have I become this bitter he made me like this (her knuckles whiten as she grips the sink and stairs sternly into her reflection)

27. he could never take the role of doting ... supporting ... caring father (a burst of anger comes to her body) 28. all an act thats what it was 29. one of his big time movie roles 30. except . this one lasted since my birth to his demise 31. I was his only family 32. so he said... 33. maybe Ill find I had an Aunt ... or Uncle or even a Cousin 34. now that hes dead their sure to make an appearance 35. I wouldnt be surprised if he ran them off... 36. to have all this hate for my father (she states to her reflection) 37. does that make me a bad daughter 38. hah! There I go psychoanalysing myself 39. well ... better return to the world of denial 40. (she touches up her make up with one final look into the mirror) 41. wish me luck ... I pray that I will never be a living version of my father but ... you dont get to decide how your life will turn out never mind your humanity ... ( a moment of clarity hits her and with a sigh she leaves through the door of which she entered)

Commentary I have chosen to write a monologue to represent spoken language in written form using transcription features. I chose to write a funeral monologue because I wanted to make a dramatic piece of writing. It is set in a womans toilet where she escapes to rant about her fathers funeral. To identify what transcription features I have used, I have added a transcription key making the monologue easy to understand and perform to an audience. I have used underlining to stress particular words to show emotion like passion anger and frustration (example line 4). Micro pauses are used to cause dramatic effect and tension (example line 5). While rising and falling accent/tones are used to show character tone variations in the monologue (example line 30). I have also written stage directions to give the performer more understanding of the scene. I have used imagery (line 30) to give a wider description of the scene. The monologue is an informal text and written in a first person narrative similar to a soliloquy. This is by using personal pronouns like I and my. The monologue contains informal language features for example a use of slang e.g. fag or other colloquial language like elisions; bleedin, hankerin and a use of ellipses; should have never given up or my opinion ... not soon enough. These prosodic features make the monologue more contemporary. Also a use of topical allusion also adds sarcasm and a modern context e.g. even Charlie Sheens funeral would have more genuine mourners. There is also a use of formal register for example; demise I used this to show the woman is educated character. The monologue is written in a personal manner expressing personal thoughts and emotions, there is a use of emotive language for example; hate, disastrous, doting, supporting, caring and loving. I used the three consecutive pre modifiers; doting, supporting and caring (line 27) to stress the womans resentment of her father. They share connotations of love, mollycoddling, spoiling and protecting. There are also lexical patterns of spiritual and words related to grief for example God, mourners, loss, leaches, angel, shock, demise, birth, pray, denial and life. These words set a negative tone to the monologue while also keeping it subject specific. The monologue consists of a womans anger and complaints about her deceased father. I used adjectives like; old (playboy) and the great Marcus Andrew OBrian (a proper noun) to show the female characters irony felt towards her father. I used the clichs gods gift to mankind to show the womans irony and also the simile as big as the Grand Canyon to show the womans anger camouflaged by humour. There is also a use of parallel sentences (line 8, 9, 10) to show the womans emotions and her frustration with the mourners, a use of rhetorical interrogatives Why am I here(line 2) also to show her frustration and anger at not wanting to beat her fathers funerals.