Mr. P. Langevin
ENG1D
What is a Soliloquy and What is a Monoloque?
What Is A Soliloquy?
A soliloquy is a word taken from Latin and it means ‘talking by oneself.’ It’s a device
that dramatists – and Shakespeare to great effect – used to allow a character to
communicate his or her thoughts directly to the audience. The character may be
surrounded by other characters but the convention is that they can’t hear the
soliloquy because it is essentially a piece in which the character is thinking rather
than actually speaking to anyone.
EXAMPLES
Speaker Act, Scene
Literary Devices
Summary/Purpose
What Is A Monologue?
A monologue is a speech made by a character to other characters, sometimes to a
crowd. It is not a dialogue, where two or more people are in conversation with each
other. Shakespeare’s plays are full of monologues.
EXAMPLES
Speaker
Act, Scene
Literary Devices
Summary/Purpose
Mr. P. Langevin
ENG1D