Were all of Shakespeares monologues written in iambic pentameter, or in free verse?
Yes, some monologues (and the Hamlet speech, as you say, is one) are written in iambic pentameter, and some are not. I don’t think it’s fair to say that some are “free verse.” That term came about in the 19th century and really doesn’t apply to Shakespeare’s writing. The common wisdom is that some of the great Shakespeare monologues are simply in prose. Among many, many examples is this speech by Dogberry in Much Ado. If anyone should NOT be speaking in poetry, it is he: ================================ “Dost thou not suspect my place? dost thou not suspect my years? O that he were here to write me down an ass! But, masters, remember that I am an ass; though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass. No, thou villain, thou art full of piety, as shall be proved upon thee by good witness. I am a wise fellow, and, which is more, an officer, and, which is more, a householder, and, which is more, as pretty a piece of flesh as any is in Messina, and one that knows the law, go t
