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Literature vocabulary · Drama and Theatre

Dialogue

Meaning in literature, with examples

/ˈdaɪəlɒɡ/nounCore term

In literature, dialogue means: The words that characters speak to each other in a story, play or film; in prose it is usually shown in quotation marks.

In Turkish: diyalog, karşılıklı konuşma

How it is used

Plays are built almost entirely of dialogue; in novels it alternates with narration and description. Reviewers call dialogue sharp, witty, natural, stilted or wooden. Writing teachers say good dialogue reveals character and moves the plot forward.

Example sentences

  1. The dialogue in this play is so natural that it sounds improvised.

  2. Cut the long descriptions and let the dialogue carry the scene.

Common collocations

  • sharp dialogue
  • witty dialogue
  • natural dialogue
  • lines of dialogue
  • write dialogue
  • monologueA long speech by one character, either spoken to other characters who listen or to the audience, in a play, film or story.
  • playA piece of writing for the theatre, made up of dialogue and stage directions, that actors perform in front of an audience.
  • characterizationThe ways a writer creates and reveals a character's personality, through description, actions, speech, thoughts and other characters' reactions.
  • dramaLiterature written to be performed by actors on a stage, telling a story through dialogue and action; also a single serious play.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Drama and Theatre

Practise with graded reading

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