By allowing the audience to witness a character talking only to themselves, the soliloquies main purpose is to allow the audience to feel secure that they are learning the purest truth about that characters thoughts and are comfortable accepting these as fact. However in retrospect, when Iago or Othello are revealing their own thoughts to themselves, instead of seeing their words as one dimensional and simply accepting them, we realise that they reveal more about each of the characters than it at first seems. Shakespeare, through his use of soliloquy, allows us to get a sense of the mental instability of his characters which they themselves cannot recognise and cannot tell us simply in words. A prime example is during Act 2 Scene 2, when Iago claims through his soliloquy, that one of the many motives for his hatred of Othello is because he thinks the moor is having an affair with his wife. ‘For that I do suspect the lusty Moor, Hath leaped into my seat.’ It is only as the play develops and we see both Othello and Emilia together showing no sexual interest in one another at all, that we begin to doubt Iago’s reasoning and get a deeper sense of his unprovoked malevolence. Through soliloquy Shakespeare subtly presents the twisted nature of his villain and there is little ‘embarrassing’ about the way he approaches this.
Other critics are more complimentary about Shakespeare’s use of soliloquy, claiming that its usage gives Shakespeare and his actor a strange-hold on their audience, raising tension and creating an intimacy between actor and audience. Shakespeare is able to invite the audience into the minds of both Iago and Othello through soliloquy, and through his use of language and imagery can depict in great force the state of their minds to the audience, writhing up tension and atmosphere. One of Othello’s most prominent soliloquies sees him wrestling with a number of conclusions, wavering between believing Iago and trusting his wife, his uncertainty reflected in the imagery Shakespeare uses. Lines 301-304 read: ‘If I do prove her haggard, Though that her jesses were my dear heartstrings, I’d whistle her off and let her down the wind to prey at fortune.’ This falcon imagery shows that Othello is still unsure about Desdemona, and claims that though he is in love with his wife, he would drop her if he found out she was cheating. This is quite a strong willed statement, but it is diminished by lines 319-320, which follow the entrance of Desdemona and Emilia into the chamber. Othello says, ‘If she be false, heaven mocks itself! I’ll not believe ‘t.’ This is an example of how turbulent Othello’s state of mind is. The solid determination expressed using the falcon image sort of “melts” when he sees Desdemona, and he immediately professes denial that she could be untrue to him. Yet, just ten lines earlier, Othello says, “She’s gone! I am abused!” and proceeds to doubt the very institution of marriage: “O cure of marriage? That we can call these delicate creatures ours, And not their appetites!” Shakespeare’s placing of these three different conclusions Othello has drawn, in such close proximity is an example of antithesis, and a testament to the changing and chaotic state of mind of Othello. The intense sense of the unknown which is conjured up here adds a lot to the drama of the play, throwing around all possibilities at what could happen, very much ’raising the tension.’
Soliloquy is still a prominent part of modern day theatre, whether the individual audience members appreciate it or not. It cannot be denied that by sharing such open access to the thoughts of each of the characters one does achieve a valuable sense of intimacy between the actor and the audience which can then be manipulated through language to arouse tension and gain an effective ‘strange-hold’ upon the audience. If used correctly, as Shakespeare does, without having the characters simply state what they are feeling but, through imagery, show the audience just how they are feeling via the language they use, then the soliloquy cannot cause embarrassment. The soliloquy shall never be outdated with regards to performance on the stage, as the playwright has no other choice than to have the characters tell you what is on their minds. There is no space or means for any other nature of access to the characters private thoughts, intent or emotion. All in all, it’s effectiveness all depends on its delivery, and this is something that Shakespeare mastered.
