Dramatic Techniques

Drama is literature written for performance. When you study plays at A-Level — whether Shakespeare's tragedies, modern drama, or any other dramatic text — you must consider not only the words on the page but how they function in the context of the stage. This lesson covers the key dramatic techniques you need to analyse.

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Soliloquy

A soliloquy is a speech delivered by a character alone on stage, revealing their inner thoughts and feelings to the audience.

Key Definition: Soliloquy — a dramatic convention in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud while alone on stage, giving the audience direct access to their inner world.

Soliloquies serve several functions:

• Reveal hidden thoughts — what a character truly thinks, as opposed to what they say to others
• Create dramatic irony — the audience knows things other characters do not
• Develop themes — major thematic ideas are often articulated most clearly in soliloquies
• Build audience sympathy or antipathy — direct address creates a relationship between character and audience

Example: Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" (Act 3, Scene 1)