1) Definition (CUET-ready)
A soliloquy is a dramatic speech in which a character, typically alone on stage (or believing they are alone), speaks their thoughts aloud, revealing inner feelings, motives, dilemmas, or plans directly to the audience.
A safe exam line:
- Soliloquy = character’s inner speech externalised on stage.
2) Key functions of soliloquy (why it exists)
A) Interior access (psychological revelation)
It gives the audience privileged access to:
- private thought,
- moral conflict,
- secret intention.
B) Plot and suspense
Soliloquies can:
- disclose plans,
- foreshadow action,
- create dramatic irony (audience knows more than other characters).
C) Ethical and philosophical reflection
Many soliloquies stage:
- moral reasoning,
- existential doubt,
- questions of action vs inaction.
This is why soliloquy is central to tragedy.