GENRE STUDIES UNIT-IV Soliloquy

 

Soliloquy

            A soliloquy, a literary device used in drama, is a speech that reveals a character’s internal thoughts, motivation, or plans. Characters usually deliver soliloquies while they are alone, the audience has the benefit of hearing this speech, but the other character do not. When delivering soliloquies, characters often seem to be, “thinking out loud”.

            The word soliloquy is derived from the Latin word “solo”, which means “to himself”, and loquor which means “I speak”, a soliloquy offers playwright a handy way of keeping the audience aware of the play’s plot and progress.

Function

v  A soliloquy in a play is a great dramatic technique or tool that intends to reveal the inner workings of the character.

v  No other techniques can perform the function of supplying essential progress of the action of the story better than a soliloquy.

v  It is used, not only to convey the development of the play to the audience, but also to provide an opportunity to see inside the mind of a certain character.

 

Example

            In a Soliloquy, the character makes a lengthy speech to himself or herself. In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, when Hamlet asks, “To be or not to be...?” he is speaking to himself in a soliloquy.