Before Shakespeare invented the soliloquy, actors spoke in monologues and dialogues. Soliloquys are a radical combination of the uninterrupted speech of one person (in monologues) with the tension created by expressing two different perspectives (in dialogues). Soliloquys demonstrate how a character can go back and forth when weighing both sides of an important question. They are powerful. When we think of “Hamlet,” it is often the “To be, or not to be, that is the question” soliloquy that comes to mind. Reading this book about literary techniques is like drinking espresso. The new school year is starting, and I’m ready.
Fletcher, Angus. Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature. Simon & Schuster, 2021, p. 291.