What does soliloquy mean?
Word: Soliloquy
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Soliloquy means a speech in a play in which a character alone on stage says their thoughts aloud.
How do you spell soliloquy?
Syllables: so - lil - o - quy
Tricky part: The ending is the trap. After the qu comes a plain y, with no e or i added to spell the sound at the end.
Watch out for: soliloquey, soliloquie
Memory tip: A character alone on stage keeps wondering why, so close the word with the y of why.
Soliloquy in a sentence
Example 1: The actor paused, stepped forward and began his soliloquy.
Example 2: Our English teacher asked us to learn a short soliloquy for the drama contest.
Example 3: Rehana wrote a soliloquy in which a tired shopkeeper talks to himself at closing time.
Fun Fact
Shakespeare's Hamlet is the play most people link with this word: its title character speaks several soliloquies, and actors often learn them for auditions.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word soliloquy as used in the sentence:
The audience sat silent through the hero's long soliloquy in the second act.
a) applause
b) interval
c) chorus
d) monologue
Show answer
d) monologue. Both words name a long speech by one person in a play.
Mingle-Mangle
Rearrange the jumbled letters in the sentence to form the right word:
At rehearsal, Jonah stood by himself under the lights and practised his oqlluysoi again.
a) soliloquy
b) solidarity
c) solitude
d) soloist
Show answer
a) soliloquy. Just one option contains a q, and so does the jumble.
Word Cookie
One word in this sentence is misspelt. Find it:
In the third scene the young prince stands under a single spotlight and delivers a thoughtful solilaquy about his dream of sailing far beyond the palace walls.
a) solilaquy
b) thoughtful
c) spotlight
d) palace
Show answer
a) solilaquy. The letter before the qu is an o, the same vowel as in the opening syllable.
Spell-o-Spell
One of these words is misspelt. Choose what it means.
1. audience 2. playwrite 3. rehearsal 4. soliloquy
a) a practice session before a show
b) the people watching a show
c) a person who writes plays
d) lines a lone actor speaks to show private thoughts
Show answer
c) a person who writes plays. This word ends in wright, an old word for a maker, as a shipwright makes ships.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which scene from a play is a soliloquy?
a) An actor alone on stage wonders aloud about leaving home.
b) A crowd sings a song about the harvest.
c) Two friends argue loudly about leaving home.
d) A narrator reads the cast list to the audience.
Show answer
a) An actor alone on stage wonders aloud about leaving home.
2. Why does a dramatist give a character a soliloquy?
a) to let the orchestra rest between acts
b) to give the other actors time to change
c) to show the audience how the set was built
d) to let the audience hear private feelings
Show answer
d) to let the audience hear private feelings
