--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They say Shakespeare invented the…" description: "\"“They say Shakespeare invented the internal monologue.\" Oh, I am very familiar with the internal monologue.”\" — Robin Sloan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/robin-sloan-1513_monologue_they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-intern_884733.png" --- # They say Shakespeare invented the internal monologue." Oh… ![“They say Shakespeare invented the internal monologue." Oh, I am very familiar with the internal monologue.” quote by Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/robin-sloan-1513_monologue_they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-intern_884733.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/robin-sloan-1513_monologue_they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-intern_884733.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/robin-sloan-1513_monologue_they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-intern_884733.png) > ““They say Shakespeare invented the internal monologue." Oh, I am very familiar with the internal monologue.”” [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes that while Shakespeare is credited with inventing the internal monologue, modern writers are well‑acquainted with the technique. **In simple terms:** Shakespeare’s claim is contested; internal monologue is common now. Key Takeaway Explore how inner thoughts shape storytelling. Themes literature creativity writing technique Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type observation reflection When to use this quote - creative writing workshops - literary analysis - script development Key Concepts novelists screenwriters poets Questions to Reflect On - How does internal monologue affect reader engagement? - What modern works use this technique effectively? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on Shakespeare may ignore earlier examples. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Internal Monologue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internal-monologue-454942/) [Monologue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monologue/) [Monologue Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monologue-oh-1087200/) [Mr-penumbra-s-24-hour-bookstore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mr-penumbra-s-24-hour-bookstore-126456/) [Say Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-shakespeare-819507/) [Shakespeare Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare-invented-1087201/) ## Related quotes > [ I won't say he \[Shakespeare\] 'invented' us, because journalists perpetually misunderstand me on that. I'll put it more simply: he contains us. Our ways… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-won-t-say-he-shakespeare-invented-us-because-journalists/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“Oh, I am very familiar with the internal monologue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/oh-i-am-very-familiar-with-the-internal-monologue/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“I tell him, and I write it down as I go. It makes me feel better, as if the weirdness is flowing out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/i-tell-him-and-i-write-it-down-as-i-go-it-makes-me-feel-better-as-if/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [As we go about our daily routines, our internal monologue narrates our experience. Our self-talk guides our behavior and influences the way we interact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-morin/as-we-go-about-our-daily-routines-our-internal-monologue-narrates-our/) [Amy Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-morin/) > [“Don't start with me right now, internal monologue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-huss/don-t-start-with-me-right-now-internal-monologue/) [J.A. Huss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-huss/) > [“And from the time I was a kid, I've had this internal monologue roaring through my head, which doesn't stop - unless I'm asleep.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-belfort/and-from-the-time-i-was-a-kid-i-ve-had-this-internal-monologue/) [Jordan Belfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-belfort/) > [My thing is, I like playing guys who have a really interesting internal monologue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennie-james/my-thing-is-i-like-playing-guys-who-have-a-really-interesting/) [Lennie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennie-james/) > [“Each big idea like that is an operating system upgrade," she says, smiling. Comfortable territory. "Writers are responsible for some of it. They say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/each-big-idea-like-that-is-an-operating-system-upgrade-she-says/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“Shakespeare invented the Knock Knock joke, with the first one appearing in his play Macbeth. Here it is (and prepare yourself, it’s a cracker)...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/shakespeare-invented-the-knock-knock-joke-with-the-first-one/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [“Did you know that the author William Shakespeare invented more than seventeen hundred words, including ‘assassination’ and ‘bump’?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenore-look/did-you-know-that-the-author-william-shakespeare-invented-more-than/) [Lenore Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenore-look/) > [Nothing that Shakespeare ever invented was to equal Lincoln's invention of himself and, in the process, us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/nothing-that-shakespeare-ever-invented-was-to-equal-lincoln-s/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It's no wonder human beings are so narcissistic. The way our ears are constructed, we can hear only what is right next to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/it-s-no-wonder-human-beings-are-so-narcissistic-the-way-our-ears-are/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“What's more, it's not as though the fixed mindset wants to leave gracefully. If the fixed mindset has been controlling your internal monologue, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-dweck/what-s-more-it-s-not-as-though-the-fixed-mindset-wants-to-leave/) [Carol Dweck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-dweck/) > [“Most people say that Shakespeare rocked merely because most people say that Shakespeare rocked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/most-people-say-that-shakespeare-rocked-merely-because-most-people/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## More by Robin Sloan > [“But it will make mistakes," she says. "Hadoop will probably get us from a hundred thousand buildings down to, like, five thousand." "So we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/but-it-will-make-mistakes-she-says-hadoop-will-probably-get-us-from-a/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [You can go as far back as fifth grade, and you will find me tinkering with media and computers, making things that are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/you-can-go-as-far-back-as-fifth-grade-and-you-will-find-me-tinkering/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [He has the strangest expression on his face- the emotional equivalent of 404 PAGE NOT FOUND.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/he-has-the-strangest-expression-on-his-face-the-emotional-equivalent/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“Baking, by contrast, was solving the same problem over and over again, because every time, the solution was consumed. I mean, really: chewed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/baking-by-contrast-was-solving-the-same-problem-over-and-over-again/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“I tell him, and I write it down as I go. It makes me feel better, as if the weirdness is flowing out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/i-tell-him-and-i-write-it-down-as-i-go-it-makes-me-feel-better-as-if/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [There's just no escaping it: The half-life of media on the Internet is super short. Tweets flow and fade; pages that look great today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/there-s-just-no-escaping-it-the-half-life-of-media-on-the-internet-is/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [Imagination runs out. But it makes sense, right? We probably just imagine things based on what we already know, and we run out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/imagination-runs-out-but-it-makes-sense-right-we-probably-just/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“My limbic system has grown accustomed to a certain (very low) level of human (female) contact. With her standing right next to me, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/my-limbic-system-has-grown-accustomed-to-a-certain-very-low-level-of/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“The shelves were packed close together, and it felt like I was standing at the border of a forest--not a friendly Californian forest, either,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/the-shelves-were-packed-close-together-and-it-felt-like-i-was/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“How was New York?' Ashley asks politely. I'm not sure how to respond. Something like: Well, the mustachioed master of the secret library is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/how-was-new-york-ashley-asks-politely-i-m-not-sure-how-to-respond/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [We range widely, we readers of fiction, but I think we all need a home. Mine is science fiction. It's my home shelf, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/we-range-widely-we-readers-of-fiction-but-i-think-we-all-need-a-home/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“Neel cuts in: "Where'd you grow up?" "Palo Alto," she says. From there to Stanford to Google: for a girl obsessed with the outer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/neel-cuts-in-where-d-you-grow-up-palo-alto-she-says-from-there-to/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [Doing research for 'Penumbra,' I read quite a bit about the early history of printing, and the more I did, the more it sounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/doing-research-for-penumbra-i-read-quite-a-bit-about-the-early/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“History hinges on such small things. A difference of thirty degrees, and this story would end here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/history-hinges-on-such-small-things-a-difference-of-thirty-degrees/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“It is very quiet. I set my chin into my palm and count my friends and wonder what else is hiding in plain sight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/it-is-very-quiet-i-set-my-chin-into-my-palm-and-count-my-friends-and/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) [Explore all 227 Robin Sloan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) ## More Monologue quotes > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [“Men of the cloth live in this monologue, it is their due: nobody talks back to a pulpit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-sinclair/men-of-the-cloth-live-in-this-monologue-it-is-their-due-nobody-talks/) [Iain Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-sinclair/) > [I must remind the right honourable gentleman that a monologue is not a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-attlee/i-must-remind-the-right-honourable-gentleman-that-a-monologue-is-not/) [Clement Attlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-attlee/) > [There should be a rule against your own inner monologue throwing around that much sarcasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/there-should-be-a-rule-against-your-own-inner-monologue-throwing/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“He said that he felt that there was a book hidden between us. Some small thing lodged between a rib or a summer. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikl-paul/he-said-that-he-felt-that-there-was-a-book-hidden-between-us-some/) [Mikl Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikl-paul/) > [Theatre aside, my penchant for the extended monologue began with my reading of Browning's dramatic monologues, in high school. My inclination to adopt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/theatre-aside-my-penchant-for-the-extended-monologue-began-with-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [“This continuous monologue that seeks to become a dialogue... (Zoltan Galos)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zj-galos/this-continuous-monologue-that-seeks-to-become-a-dialogue-zoltan-galos/) [ZJ Galos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zj-galos/) > [“The perfect being, huh? There is no such thing as perfect in this world. That may sound cliché, but it’s the truth. The average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tite-kubo/the-perfect-being-huh-there-is-no-such-thing-as-perfect-in-this-world/) [Tite Kubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tite-kubo/) > [“A fool, a fool! I met a fool i' the forest, A motley fool; a miserable world! As I do live by food, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-fool-a-fool-i-met-a-fool-i-the-forest-a-motley-fool-a-miserable/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I had to invest in the love and understand that with the love comes the pain. So when he tells me that, the monologue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-had-to-invest-in-the-love-and-understand-that-with-the-love-comes/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [In America, we have so many movies and so much media about the Islamic world, the sub-continental world, but it's not a conversation, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-nair/in-america-we-have-so-many-movies-and-so-much-media-about-the-islamic/) [Mira Nair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-nair/) > [“the capture the rapture the rupture of a soul a solo symphony”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/the-capture-the-rapture-the-rupture-of-a-soul-a-solo-symphony/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [Cinema is a visual language, and you're always looking for visual metaphors for things. You know, if I was writing a play about Howard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-logan/cinema-is-a-visual-language-and-you-re-always-looking-for-visual/) [John Logan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-logan/) > [“When conversing, some people regularly stop talking, not to listen, but to rest their tongues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/when-conversing-some-people-regularly-stop-talking-not-to-listen-but/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Browse all 139 Monologue quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monologue/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They say Shakespeare invented the internal monologue.\" Oh, I am very familiar with the internal monologue.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robin Sloan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-internal-monologue-oh-i-am-very/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Monologue" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-internal-monologue-oh-i-am-very/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/robin-sloan-1513_monologue_they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-intern_884733.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/robin-sloan-1513_monologue_they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-intern_884733.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/robin-sloan-1513_monologue_they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-intern_884733.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They say Shakespeare invented the internal monologue.\" Oh, I am very familiar with the internal monologue.” — Robin Sloan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robin Sloan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“They say Shakespeare invented the internal...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-internal-monologue-oh-i-am-very/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-internal-monologue-oh-i-am-very/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```