From Hamlet’s devastating “To be, or not to be,” to Dexter Morgan’s running internal dialogue, the soliloquy is far more than just a character talking to themselves. Here’s everything you need to know about soliloquies, how they differ from monologues, and how to deliver one that wows your audience.
JUMP TO
LightField Studios/Shutterstock
A soliloquy is a speech that a character delivers while they are alone onstage or believe themselves to be alone. It is a device used in drama to reveal the character’s innermost thoughts and motivations. It allows the audience to understand what the character is thinking, feeling, and planning, without sharing these thoughts with other characters in the play. Soliloquies can also be used to create dramatic tension, as the audience is aware of the character’s plans, even if the other characters are not.
“Blade Runner” Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Both soliloquies and monologues are forms of dramatic speech, but the primary difference is that a monologue is directed to someone else—either another character or to the audience directly—whereas a soliloquy is a revelation of a character’s innermost thoughts and feelings that happens to be witnessed by the audience.
How to Choose a One-Minute Monologue for Your Next Audition 
metamorworks/Shutterstock
- To show a character’s inner thoughts: A soliloquy allows the audience to hear the character’s innermost thoughts and feelings, which are often not expressed to other characters or only hinted at through their actions. This provides a deeper understanding of the character’s internal world and helps the audience to connect with the character on an emotional level.
- To advance the plot: Soliloquies also serve a narrative function, advancing the plot or setting up future events in the play or film. They are often used to provide exposition, convey important information, and build suspense.
- As a break from dialogue: Soliloquies are also used to create a sense of poetry and lyrical beauty in classic theater. They offer a break from the dialogue and allow the audience to focus on the thoughts and feelings of the character without any distractions.
Frame Stock Footage/Shutterstock
As it is a profoundly intimate type of performance, the soliloquy requires great nuance and passion. This means it can be more challenging—and rewarding—than other forms of dramatic speech. These tips can help you effectively deliver a soliloquy:
- Know the character: Understanding a character’s motivations inside and out is necessary to effectively deliver this type of speech. If you’re using a soliloquy as an audition piece, it’s extra important to familiarize yourself intimately with the source material. This will help you to deliver the soliloquy with authenticity and depth.
- Find the objective: Examine the context around the soliloquy. Interrogate what the character is trying to decide or convince themselves of in this speech. Knowing the objective will allow you to keep the speech active.
- Make it about discovery: Since a soliloquy provides insight into your character’s thoughts, let each new thought be a new discovery—not just for the character, but for the audience as well. Take them on a journey.
- Allow the location to impact your performance: Consider where your character is and use that to drive your delivery. A character will likely speak differently in the privacy of their own bedroom than the nave of an empty cathedral.
“Hamlet” Act 3, Scene 1: “To be, or not to be.”
Possibly the most famous example of a soliloquy is Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech. In the speech, Hamlet is considering the dilemma of whether to endure the hardships of life or to end his own life, and ponders the pros and cons of both options. The speech is one of the most famous passages in English literature and is often studied for its themes of mortality and existence.
Andrew Scott performs the infamous soliloquy to great effect. “Each soliloquy sounds as though he were thinking it for the first time as he mixes the conversational with the histrionic,” writes theater critic Kate Kellaway of the performance. “Hamlet may be in doubt but Scott is not—he is a brilliant communicator and ensures that Shakespeare’s language never sounds archaic.” This is the true beauty of this performance: Scott makes it feel new, like a discovery word by word.
“Othello” Act 2, Scene 3: “And what’s he then that says I play the villain?”
Iago’s soliloquy is used to create dramatic tension by allowing the audience to know long before the other characters do that Iago is the villain. As he shares his nefarious machinations, viewers come to understand how he manipulates the people around him, and how the threads he pulls begin to unravel throughout the course of the rest of the story.
“Macbeth” Act 5, Scene 5: “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.”
Macbeth has just learned the news of his Queen’s death, and this soliloquy is a response to that news. Patrick Stewart’s performance underscores the bleak futility of fighting against inevitable death. The discovery here is the general sense of despair and cynicism that accompanies Macbeth’s thoughts about the future.
This form of dramatic speech isn’t typically employed in contemporary film. Instead, movies usually use monologues in which characters give speeches to other characters or break the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience. The primary way soliloquies are used in modern storytelling is through voiceover, which provides insight into a character’s internal world. Here are a few examples of this type of soliloquy.
“Trainspotting”: “Choose life.”
The audience is immediately put in Renton’s head as he challenges the confinement of responsibility, choosing to eschew that type of life for hedonistic nihilism.
“Fight Club”: “This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.”
This soliloquy is a wakeup call emphasizing human mortality and demanding an end to conformity.
“Dexter”: “A good sailor.”
In this voiceover, serial killer Dexter shows that he is confident in his unique skill set and creates an intricate metaphor—all while disposing of body parts.