Soliloquy

Literary terminology is important in understand works. I am working on presenting terms in relation to the works of literature discussed. Soliloquies are used extensively in plays. The most famous soliloquy would have to be Hamlet’s “To be or not to be.” A soliloquy is normally a person alone on stage talking about his real feelings or innermost thoughts.

Soliloquy  [suh-lil-uh-kwee] n.
1.an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present (often used as a device in drama to disclose a character's innermost thoughts).
2. the act of talking while or as if alone.

Shakespeare was a master of language and his soliloquies are studied and quoted extensively.

William Shakespeare
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
First Published 1608


Hamlet Nicely formatted. $0.99 


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I have not read Hamlet yet, but I have read about it. The reason I am including it here is that I will be reading this play starting tonight! Anyone want to read along with me?


Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Hamlet:

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet exacts on his uncle Claudius for murdering King Hamlet, Claudius's brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and taking as his wife Gertrude, the old king's widow and Prince Hamlet's mother. The play vividly portrays both true and feigned madness – from overwhelming grief to seething rage – and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption.

Sounds great to me! Wikipedia and Sparknotes are great resources for background and notes on text. This is especially useful when the language is a barrier to full understanding. Shakespeare had a ridiculous vocabulary and the language has also changed a bit in the last few hundred years. His texts are studied with annotations in universities that are done by Shakesperian Scholars. Attending a play or watching a film version will also help with understanding the work. YouTube also has theatre outfit’s recordings of the plays that you can listen to while you read along. I recommend doing all of these. Study up on the play by reading online. Read an act or two and look up the synopsis online to make sure you are following along and understanding it all. Finish the play then watch a  film version. This will give you much more interaction with a play and help with the understanding of themes and characters.

Shakespeare’s works are a challenge but ones that are well worth it.

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