An audience can learn more from hearing a soliloquy about a certain character. This is because we can see how they react to situations, which shows us their character in more depth. We can see this through Viola’s soliloquy:
“O time, thou must untangle this, not I;
It is too hard a knot for me to untie”
We see from this that she is a laid back and calm person because even though the issue she finds herself in is complicated she remains calm, relying on fate to see the outcome and hoping for the best. Another good example of making the understand how the character feels is the soliloquy in Romeo & Juliet when Juliet debates with herself whether to drink the poison. You can see she is worried and apprehensive when she questions herself continuously: “What if this mixture do not work at all?..”. From these continuous questions the audience can see she is confused and unsure of what to do.
The structures of soliloquies help understanding of the characters. In Macbeth, when he is considering killing Duncan we see him arguing with himself. The structure helps us see how his feelings change. At the start he is calm and debating the pros and con’s on killing Duncan. He starts by explaining that once it is done then it will all be over “if it were done when ‘t is done… might be the be-all and the end all-here” and then a conjunction helps us see the other argument, “He’s here in double trust:.. I am his kinsman’s… his host, Who should against his murdered shut the door.” Then suddenly the language begins to show more emotion as Macbeth becomes more confused- “Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued…
And pity like a naked new-born babe.” More flamboyant language helps heighten the tension or drama.
A calmer person in portrayed in Merchant of Venice, Arragon. We see from his soliloquy that he is quicker at making a clearer decision. The sentences in the soliloquy are short, clearer which shows us that the decision can be made quicker.
As I have mentioned in the previous paragraph conjunctions are used to heighten tension or confusion- this is perfectly portrayed in Juliet’s soliloquy:
“And madly play..
And pluck…
And in…”
The repetitive conjunction adds to the drama because it shows rapid thoughts- not thought through rationally. In Juliet’s case they show drama because they show how frightened she is.
Imagery helps widen understanding by often making the reader feel the intense emotion. If I use the example from ‘Merchant of Venice’, where Morocco is choosing the box we can see this coming into action. He feels very strongly for Portia and this can be seen when he says, “To kiss this shrine this mortal breathing saint.” From this we see that he is comparing her to almost an angel, a living saint. These imagery helps us see how deep he feels for her and how much he thinks of her.