I would say that the essence of a dramatic monologue is that the narrator must have a dramatic story to tell. This eliminates the personal experience of most of us, as well as all first-person accounts of generalized experiences, such as falling in love, being disappointed in love, and wandering lonely as a cloud.
Also, I think it's ALWAYS a mistake, unless you are dealing with a known "confessional" poet, to assume that a first-person poem is an account of first-person experience. I once wrote a poem in which the speaker laments her infertility. Unfortunately, several friends thought I was venting my soul on a personal tragedy,and I was obliged to explain that I was childless by choice.
|