HamletWilliam Shakespeare
To be, or not to be
The most famous soliloquy in English is a man trying to think clearly and being interrupted by his own metaphors.
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Soliloquy
A speech in which a character, alone on stage, thinks aloud. The convention lets the audience hear what cannot be said to anyone in the play.
How to spot it
Ask why the character can only say this when nobody is listening. The presence of an audience changes the speech's honesty.
Why writers use it
It gives access to interior life in a form built for public performance.
In the texts
MacbethWilliam Shakespeare
Is this a dagger which I see before me
The soliloquy is where Macbeth rehearses the murder, which is why the crime already feels performed before it happens.
Common misread
A soliloquy is not a diary entry. It is performed, and the character often knows the audience is there.