The Style of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads :: Talking Heads

The Style of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads Bennett states in his introduction that "forms....dictate themselves" and that material demands to be "written in a particular way and no other". Each of the characters, according to the author has a "single point of view" and none is "telling the whole story". He says that his characters are "artless" and "don't quite know what they are saying". It is true that this is so. We, the listeners, can make conjectures about all of them. Graham's ambiguous sexuality, Susan's alcoholism and Muriel's perverted husband are not revealed directly through any statements made to us. They are hinted at by what is left unsaid or by what is obliquely inferred. In a very real sense, though, this is true to life and Bennett cleverly constructs each monologue to be as realistic as possible. In speaking to an inanimate object - the camera - each character is, so to speak, alone. The audience is not "there", as far as the speaker is concerned. Better still, the camera is like a hidden priest in a confess ional. Each person is able to speak quite frankly to the anonymous listener. If we make judgements we have no means of interaction. This is not a two - way process of confidential gossip, for none of the characters expect a reply. Bennett lets his characters reveal themselves openly and we are left to form our own opinions of them. He calls the style "austere" and so it is, for there is no authorial decoration of expression. What each character actually says is all we are given to work on and we must sift the inner meanings for ourselves. One of the author's most impressive gifts is his ear for idiom. All of the characters use an idiomatic turn of phrase exactly suited to their lifestyles and backgrounds. Bennett's use of cliché is extensive, each character again using appropriate language with regard to background and upbringing. Their choice of idiom is often very funny, sometimes intentionally, as in the case of Susan's "Hazflor" episode and sometimes unintentionally, as in Doris's "Love God and close all gates". It is difficult to categorise the form of these stories. Bennett calls them monologues, which, strictly speaking, they are, but he also says that several of them could be plays.