Narrative technique

Soliloquy

A speech in which a character, alone on stage, voices their private thoughts aloud.

A soliloquy reveals a character’s inner conflict, motives, and feelings directly to the audience while other characters cannot hear. Writers, especially playwrights, use it to provide psychological depth and dramatic insight. It functions on stage much like interior monologue does in fiction.

Example

In the “To be or not to be” soliloquy, Hamlet weighs life against death aloud, letting the audience witness his anguished reasoning.

Hamlet · William Shakespeare

See it in action

Analyses on StoryBites that use soliloquy:

Romeo and JulietWilliam ShakespeareMacbethWilliam ShakespeareHamletWilliam ShakespeareOthelloWilliam ShakespeareJulius CaesarWilliam Shakespeare

Related terms

Point of ViewThe perspective from which a story is told.CharacterizationThe methods an author uses to create and reveal a character’s personality.Stream of ConsciousnessA style that tries to capture the continuous flow of a character’s thoughts and impressions.

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