Soliloquy - GCSE English Literature Definition

Key Takeaways

• A soliloquy is a speech in which a character in a play speaks their thoughts aloud while alone on stage

• The word comes from the Latin "solus" (alone) and "loqui" (to speak)

• Soliloquies reveal a character's true feelings while creating dramatic irony 

• Shakespeare's tragedies extensively use soliloquies for dramatic effect  

• A soliloquy differs from a monologue (addressed to other characters) and an aside (a brief remark to the audience)

What Is a Soliloquy in Literature?

A soliloquy is a dramatic device where a character speaks their innermost thoughts aloud while alone on stage (or believing themselves to be alone). The audience hears everything. Other characters don't.

The meaning of soliloquy becomes clearer once you break down the word. It comes from two Latin words: "solus" meaning alone, and "loqui" meaning to speak. So a soliloquy is literally "speaking alone".

In plays, soliloquies typically happen at moments of crisis or decision. A character steps forward, the action pauses, and we hear what they're really thinking. This is different from dialogue, where characters filter what they say based on who's listening. During a soliloquy, there's no filter.

Shakespeare wrote most of his soliloquies in blank verse, unrhymed lines in iambic pentameter. 

This form mirrors natural speech while giving it rhythm and weight. Soliloquies have the powerful effect of presenting the audience with the character’s true feelings, raising the more serious themes.

“The word ‘soliloquy’ can be hard to remember. The first three letters look a little like the word ‘solo’, so I often encourage my students to remember it as a solo speech in which the character speaks to themselves.”

Sam Evans, English Tutor

What Is the Main Purpose of a Soliloquy?

A soliloquy serves several dramatic functions at once. Its primary role is to reveal a character's true thoughts, motives and internal conflicts directly to the audience. When Macbeth debates whether to murder Duncan, we hear his genuine moral struggle. No other character on stage witnesses it.

This creates dramatic irony. The audience knows what characters on stage don't, and that gap builds tension. We watch other characters interact with someone whose secret thoughts we've already heard.

How a Soliloquy Affects the Audience

Soliloquies create a sense of intimacy between character and audience. You're being trusted with someone's private thoughts. This can generate sympathy even for morally questionable characters.

Take Lady Macbeth's "Unsex me here" soliloquy. She calls on dark spirits to strip away her compassion. It's chilling, yet it draws the audience closer because we understand her psychology. We become almost complicit in her plans.

Soliloquies also generate suspense. When a character reveals a plan through a soliloquy, the audience spends the rest of the scene wondering when it will play out.

If you're studying Shakespeare's dramatic techniques across his plays, Save My Exams has detailed revision notes breaking down form, structure and language methods. Explore the revision notes on Writer's Methods & Techniques in Macbeth for a closer look at how Shakespeare uses soliloquies and blank verse to shape meaning.

Soliloquy Examples

Some of the most recognised moments in English literature are soliloquies. Each one reveals a distinct internal conflict.

In Macbeth, Shakespeare’s soliloquy in which Macbeth finds himself unable to trust his senses and imagining a bloodied dagger shows Macbeth’s mental decline. The soliloquy doesn't just tell us he's anxious. It lets an audience experience his fractured state of mind through vivid, disturbing language.

Soliloquies also appear in comedies. In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice delivers a soliloquy in blank verse after overhearing that Benedick loves her. Her emotional vulnerability is revealed in a rare unguarded moment for a character defined by emotional resilience and wit.

“A good way of remembering that a monologue has a completely different effect to a soliloquy is to imagine someone you know speaking at length without interruption (maybe a teacher!) In contrast, soliloquies are thoughts, as if the character is speaking to themselves in secret.” 

Sam Evans, English Tutor

Soliloquy vs Monologue and Aside

These three terms are easy to confuse, but the differences matter.

A monologue is a long speech usually delivered to other characters. Think of a courtroom speech or a character explaining their backstory. The key difference is that other characters hear it.

An aside is much shorter. A character turns briefly to the audience to share a quick thought or reaction, then returns to the scene. Other characters aren't supposed to hear it, but unlike a soliloquy, the aside happens mid-conversation.

One thing worth noting: a dramatic monologue (a term from poetry, not drama) is a poem where a single speaker addresses a silent listener. Robert Browning's My Last Duchess is a classic example. Don't confuse this with a stage monologue.

To understand the difference between a soliloquy in a play and a dramatic monologue in a poem, you can find a detailed analysis, written by English teachers, in the Save My Exams revision notes on Browning’s poem My Last Duchess. 

How to Identify a Soliloquy in a Text

Spotting a soliloquy requires checking a few things. First, look at the stage directions. If they indicate the character is alone, or if other characters have exited, you're likely looking at a soliloquy.

Second, notice the shift in language. Soliloquies often move into a more reflective, questioning tone. You might see rhetorical questions, first-person pronouns and references to internal feelings rather than external events. In Shakespeare, a switch from prose to blank verse can signal a soliloquy is coming.

Third, pay attention to what's being said. If the character is making plans, wrestling with a moral choice, or expressing emotions they'd hide from others, that's a strong indicator.

When writing about soliloquies in essays, use the term precisely. Comment on what the speech reveals about the character's psychology, how it creates dramatic irony, and what effect it has on the audience. Referencing the plot structure around the soliloquy, where it falls in the rising action or climax, strengthens your analysis.

Shakespeare's tragedies tend to place their most revealing soliloquies just before major turning points, so their position in the play's structure is always worth analysing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a soliloquy and a dramatic monologue?

A soliloquy is a speech delivered by a character alone on stage in a play, revealing their inner thoughts to the audience. A dramatic monologue is a type of poem where a single speaker addresses a silent listener, gradually revealing their character. Browning's My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue; Hamlet's famous line "To be or not to be" is delivered in a soliloquy.

Can a soliloquy happen in a novel or is it only in plays?

Soliloquies are a dramatic convention designed for the stage, where a character can physically speak aloud to an audience. Novels achieve a similar effect through interior monologue or stream of consciousness. The term "soliloquy" is technically reserved for drama.

Why did Shakespeare use soliloquies so often?

Shakespeare needed a way to show what characters were thinking in an era before close-up camera shots or voiceover narration existed. Soliloquies let him reveal psychological depth, 

build dramatic irony and create emotional connections between characters and audiences.

How do you analyse a soliloquy in an exam?

Focus on three areas: what the soliloquy reveals about the character's thoughts, how the language choices (imagery, rhyming couplets, tone shifts) create specific effects, and why the playwright placed it at that point in the play. Always use the playwright's name to show you understand the text as a deliberate construct.

Are soliloquies used in modern plays and films?

Yes, though the convention has evolved. Modern playwrights like Arthur Miller use soliloquy-like, 

internal dream-memories in works such as Death of a Salesman. In film, the technique appears as voiceover narration or characters breaking the fourth wall. The underlying purpose remains the same: giving the audience private access to a character's mind.

References: 

[1] Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem. Penguin Books, 2000.

[2] Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Edited by R. A. Foakes and Janette Dillon, Penguin UK, 2015.

[3] Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Edited by Terence John Bew Spencer, Penguin Books, 1980.