How Shakespeare Makes an Effective Use of the Soliloquy to Increase the Audience's Understanding of Character and Plot in Twelfth Night

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How Shakespeare Makes an Effective Use of the Soliloquy to Increase the Audience's Understanding of Character and Plot in Twelfth Night

A soliloquy is a monologue where the character reveals their innermost

information without addressing to a particular listener. It is the act

of talking to yourself aloud and expressing the thought processes in

ones mind. 'A soliloquy does not deal with minor matters, but

concentrates on matters that are highly personal and revealing.' In a

soliloquy, the character is usually alone on stage and temporarily

away from other characters. In some cases, a spotlight is positioned

directly onto the actor/actress in order to signify the importance of

each and every word spoken by the character. It helps the audience to

develop awareness of their personality and the events proceeding.

Soliloquies were very common in Elizabethan drama, and intensely used

by Williams Shakespeare. He made great use of soliloquies in his

legendary plays and used them for a wide range of purposes. However,

they serve two main functions and they are: to provide information

that helps the audience follow the plot or describe events that have

occurred offstage. They also reveal the intentions of characters so

that the audience observes their actions. For example, in the

well-known play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses several soliloquies in order

to reveal the characters' major concerns.

A soliloquy is most commonly used to reveal the deepest concerns or

thoughts of the speaker, thus pointing out internal conflict. It is

either a speech to the audience, to the character him/herself or to an

object. A soliloquy involves thinking and talking thr...

... middle of paper ...

...re includes actions, expressions,

objects and several well-structured sentences to truly express the

character. Shakespeare has done this because his characters are often

not what they seem. The thoughts that we express in conversation with

other people may be considerably different from our true ones. Similar

applied to these characters of Shakespearian plays. Soliloquies seem

realistic this way and bring out their true thoughts and feelings.

This way, the audience comes to know their feelings in public compared

to their feelings whilst they are alone. The audience become part of

the play along these lines and experience the feelings and emotions

alongside the character. A soliloquy also tells the audience of the

plans that one of the characters is intending to put into action or

one character's opinion about another.

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