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Soliloquies and Shakespeare: A Strategy for Survival
(Class Notes)
What is a soliloquy?
In a soliloquy, a character is alone on stage and speaks to him/herself. For most people, this would be
considered strange behavior, but it is a common tool used by playwrights. The soliloquy is a moment of pure
honesty. We should think of it as the character’s thoughts spoken out loud. As an audience, we can’t read
the character’s mind, so the soliloquy tells us what the character is thinking and feeling.
Why are soliloquies important?
They usually indicate some turning point in the plot and action of the play. Characters may surprise you by
saying things you didn’t expect. They may concoct a secret plan, confess a terrible crime, or express a
forbidden love. They may decide where to pledge their loyalty or reveal that they are going to betray a
friend. Whenever a character is alone onstage, consider it a clue to pay extra close attention!
But I don’t get it…
The problem is, Shakespeare’s language can be tough. Nobody reads it through once and understands it right
away. A helpful reading strategy to use with Shakespeare and other difficult texts is paraphrasing.
Good readers do this often without thinking about it. As texts get more difficult, good readers will take out
a pen and paper and work through the paraphrase in a more deliberate way.
How will paraphrasing help me to understand Shakespeare?
Paraphrasing offers many opportunities to help a reader understand a difficult text like Shakespeare.
First of all, paraphrasing helps the reader to identify areas that are problematic. One
important element of good reading is to be able to point out what is causing problems and
what can be done to help. Is vocabulary the issue? Do you need more background
information? A problem can only be solved if someone is aware of it.
Secondly, paraphrasing is effective because the reader has to not only understand the
passage, but explain it. Studies have proven that explaining a process or idea to another
person (even if the person is yourself) helps the explainer to better understand what he’s
explaining.
Thirdly, once a reader understands what a text is saying, he/she can then utilize other
helpful reading strategies, such as summarizing, compare/contrast, visualizing, or making
connections. These strategies will further the reader’s understanding and help the text
make even more sense and be more clear and meaningful.
How do I paraphrase?
In a paraphrase, the reader restates the text in his/her own words. In the case of Shakespeare, you will be
translating the text into modern language. Here are a few tips for how to do it:
A paraphrase should be roughly the same length as the original.
When you paraphrase verse, it is easiest to turn it into paragraphs
Pay attention to end marks, such as periods, question marks, semi-colons, etc. One line of
verse is rarely a complete thought.
Use the tools the text provides for you. If you need more help, use outside sources. Find
the meanings of unfamiliar words through context clues or the use of a dictionary.
Try to maintain the appropriate tone as you reword. It’s okay to let the paraphrase sound
like us, but keep in mind that words coming from Cassius should sound like a modern-day
politician, and not like a Power Ranger or a Disney Princess.
Now, let’s practice paraphrasing!
First, know the context of the passage. What is currently happening in the play?
Circle any end marks to show you where one sentence ends and another begins.
Take it one sentence at a time.
Using the in-text helps, cross out words and phrases of Shakespeare’s and replace them with the
more familiar ones provided by the text.
Read the sentence again. Does it make sense now? If so, move on. If not, find the meanings of any
other unfamiliar words or phrases and replace Shakespeare’s with the new ones.
Once a sentence makes sense, rewrite it using your own words next to the actual text.
Practice the technique on the following lines from Act I:
Is this a holiday? What, know you not,
Being mechanical, you ought not walk
Upon a laboring day without the sign
Of your profession?
(Flavius, i.2-5, Page 19)
Vexed I am
Of late with passions of some difference,
Conceptions only proper to myself,
Which give some soil, perhaps, to my behaviors;
(Brutus, ii. 39-42, Page 24)
As they pass by, pluck Casca by the sleeve,
And he will (after his sour fashion) tell you
What hath proceeded worthy note today.
(Cassius, ii.179-81, Page 30)
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
(Cassius, ii.139-41, Page 28)
Now you know, Casca, I have moved already
Some certain of the noblest-minded Romans
To undergo with me an enterprise
Of honorable dangerous consequence;
And I do know by this they stay for me
In Pompey’s porch, for now, this fearful night,
There is no stir or walking in the streets,
And the complexion of the element
In favor’s like the work we have in hand,
Most bloody, fiery, and most terrible.
(Cassius, iii.121-30, Page 41)