Literary notes about Soliloquy (AI summary)
In literature, the term "soliloquy" is primarily used to describe an unspoken or semi-private monologue in which a character reveals inner thoughts and emotions, often creating a direct insight into their psyche. It is prominently featured in dramatic works, where it serves as a vehicle for introspection and moral deliberation, as seen in discussions of Shakespeare’s characters ([1], [2]). Beyond the traditional stage, writers such as Charlotte Brontë and Dickens employ soliloquies to provide reflective commentary or heighten the emotional intensity of a scene ([3], [4]). Even in more unconventional contexts, soliloquies are utilized to underscore a character’s isolation or internal conflict, thereby enriching the narrative with layers of self-revelation and analysis ([5], [6]).
- Not that he fails to realise in reflection the baseness of the deed (the soliloquy with which the scene opens shows that he does not).
— from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley - On Hamlet's soliloquy after the Ghost's disappearance see Note D .
— from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley - “My strength is quite failing me,” I said in a soliloquy.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë - Setting it down abruptly, and resuming his preparations, he went on with his soliloquy.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - At length, with a deep sigh, he exclaimed, as if in a soliloquy, “And dis all cum ob de goole-bug!
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1 by Edgar Allan Poe - "Music is certainly an excellent dam for discoursive shallows," I muttered in soliloquy.
— from Love's Usuries by Louis Creswicke