> In Shakespeare's Hamlet, "To be or not to be, that is the question" is thebeginning of which type of performance?And the answer: soliloquy. Essentially, a soliloquy is someone talking to themselves, speaking theirthoughts out loud, and not intending for anyone to hear them. In comparison, amonologue is someone talking to another character.Photo credit: Stratford Festival[https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/WhatsOn/StratfordHD/Production/Hamlet]WhileHamlet's famed question – "To be or not to be?" – begins one of the most famoussoliloquies of all time, the tool is deeply embedded in theater (and literature)of antiquity and modernity alike. Soliloquies allow for a breath in the motionof the play, forcing the normal progression of time to stop as a charactervoices their thoughts as they would normally think them. Effectively, theaudience is allowed inside the head of the speaker while they articulate whatthey think. Shakespeare remains one of the largest proponents of the soliloquy, yet somemodern works use soliloquies to allow their villainous characters a moment ofinteriority. This device can also provide details and information to influencethe plot and course of action. In addition, soliloquy can create irony in a playby revealing something about a character that others don’t know.Watch a performance of Hamlet's famous soliloquy below.