It is not so easy to discuss Shakespeare’s soliloquies. As a king in the most flourishing arena of literature, William Shakespeare is the most commendable writer of all time with the most appealing storylines. He was one of the most promising and undoubtedly the most skillful pioneers and a user of soliloquy.
Before approaching for a brief discussion about Shakespeare’s soliloquies, it is better to have a few words regarding soliloquy.
A soliloquy is an “act of talking to oneself.” Sometimes, it appears in the form of a monologue.
However, there is a difference between a monologue and a soliloquy.
A character usually makes an extended or lengthy speech to herself or himself in soliloquies. That means the character has no intention to deliver the speech to other characters. In a word, no one will be there to hear it.
But, in monologues, a character delivers speeches with clear intentions that others should hear.
So, the above brief discussion has made one crucial thing very clear: the literary term ‘soliloquy’ means the utterance of a specific character that uncovers that character’s internal thoughts. Moreover, the entire process occurs only when the person associated with this act remains alone. William Shakespeare is undoubtedly the best creator of such situations in his plays and, thereby, the greatest inventor of soliloquies.
Hamlet and Macbeth, Shakespeare’s two most famous plays, show how the English playwright develops circumstances in some powerful scenes to invent the time-winning soliloquies. The soliloquies in Macbeth and those in Hamlet reveal deep-seated conflicts in the minds of two complicated characters, Macbeth and Hamlet.
The best part of Shakespeare’s soliloquies is they unveil how innermost conflicts can produce some crude acts. The English playwright has uniquely portrayed the characters associated with the soliloquies so that the storyline in every Act of Shakespearean drama becomes clear and vivid.
For example, both Macbeth and Hamlet portray how the innermost conflicts gradually help develop diabolical plots to satisfy the thirst for power and revenge.
Why Shakespeare Used Soliloquy:
A soliloquy in a play provides audiences with the actual views and thoughts lurking inside a specific character. As a playwright, Shakespeare always wanted to develop irony in most of his plays, and soliloquy played the leading role in bringing that irony. It is undeniable that irony can give birth to suspense. In addition, suspense makes the audience engaged for the next scene in a drama.
Apart from this, soliloquies always have the most effective visual component, which allows the audience to raise their excitement to know the next step of a character in the drama.
Soliloquies in Macbeth always emerge as some of the most famous Shakespearean soliloquies. The first one is present in Act–1, Scene-vii. It begins with “If it were done when it is done…..”.
It begins showing that Macbeth is leaving the banquet hall to consider the question of murdering King Duncan. However, an innermost conflict starts pouring in Macbeth as soon as he leaves the hall. The thought of murdering Duncan at first worries him about its consequences in this life.
He thinks that murder can’t end with itself, and it sometimes recoils on the murderer.
Macbeth thinks that by killing King Duncan, he may teach others how to assassinate a king, and one day they could murder him. This idea of getting the same punishment of being perished in the future creates an uneasiness in him. He is also aware of the fact that justice is impartial. It serves the poisoner himself with a cup containing the same ingredients he once administered to his enemy. Moreover, Duncan is Macbeth’s king and a guest in his house. Therefore, it is his duty and responsibility to protect the king.
On the contrary, Macbeth can’t diminish and tame his greedy ambition. And the most concerning part is that ambition often vaults exceptionally and unexpectedly high and, as a result, over-reaches itself.
This soliloquy reveals the most crucial inner character lurking in Macbeth. It displays he is imaginative and, at the same time, sensitive too. A varied mixture of emotions in him uncovers his anxiety and his desperate attitude to get his motives clear. Unquestionably, it is, in reality, the true, invisible moral nature of Macbeth that brings this conflict to his mind.
In short, Shakespeare’s soliloquies in the famous play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, act like many other appealing soliloquies present in other Shakespearean plays. They play the essential role of effective dramatic instruments that cast light upon the characters in the dramas and the conflicts. Also, Shakespeare’s soliloquies accelerate the elicitation of the purpose of the author’s desired creation.
Shakespeare’s soliloquies usually depict one character’s moral nature and conscience when that character suffers from innermost conflict. And famous plays like Macbeth and Hamlet are the best evidence showing delicately filled with such soliloquies.
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Shakespeare’s Humorous Touch In The Tragic Art As Visible In His Words