SOLILOQUY IN DRAMA
INTRODUCTION:
The dramatist uses various literary techniques or devices to make his drama more appealing and interesting. Apart from art of plot construction and characterization, the dramatist makes use of the devices like chorus, allegory, soliloquy etc. Soliloquy is a tool of the dramatist through which he expresses the inner psyche of his characters. John Dryden said, “Drama is a just and lively image of human nature.” Now if the dramatist wants to express this “human nature”, he has to use this soliloquy. Soliloquies were so popular during the Elizabethan age that we cannot imagine the plays of Shakespeare and Marlowe without soliloquies.
DEFINITION OF SOLILOQUY:
The term “soliloquy” derives from the Latin word “soliloquium”. In Latin there are two terms “solus” (alone) and “loqui” (speak).
Soliloquy means “the act of talking to oneself” or “the act of thinking aloud”.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUD OF SOLILOQUY:
In soliloquy, a character expresses his thoughts or feelings aloud while either alone upon the stage or with the other actors keeping silent. This device was used most successfully especially in the theatre of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Long and high sounding soliloquies were popular in the revenge tragedies of Elizabethan times, such as Thomas Kyd’s ‘Spanish Tragedy’, and also in the works of Christopher Marlowe. William Shakespeare also used the device more artfully, as a true indicator of the mind of his characters, as in the famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy in ‘Hamlet’.
IMPORTANCE OF SOLILOQUY:
1. Soliloquies can reveal a character’s state of mind. This is particularly effective when it comes to soliloquies delivered by villains as a means of revealing their plans and why they wish to take such action.
2. Soliloquies also reveal the inner conflict of the protagonists. This helps the audience to understand what thoughts are going in the mind of the protagonist. This also helps the audience develop intimacy with the protagonist.
3. Soliloquies also help the dramatist to create dramatic irony. Through the use of soliloquies, the audience knows the fact which other characters on the stage are unaware of.
SOLILOQUY Vs MONOLOGUE:
Soliloquy is a speech delivered in the absence of other characters on the stage. However, the audience listens to this speech.
Monologue is a long speech delivered and addressed to either the audience or the other characters on the stage.
EXAMPLES OF SOLILOQUIES:
1. Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’
“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
“To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks.”
3. Christopher Marlowe’s ‘Doctor Faustus’
“Fair nature's eye, rise, rise again, and make
Perpetual day; or let this hour be but
A year, a month, a week, a natural day …”
CONCLUSION:
Thus, we may summarize that soliloquy is an important literary device used by the dramatist. It not only reveals the inner psychology of the characters but also creates tension and conflict in the drama. It also grips the attention and interest of the audience.
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