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Similes
Definition of Soliloquy
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings as if... read full definition
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost... read full definition
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself... read full definition
Act 2, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—"What, do I love her":
In Angelo’s first soliloquy in the play, he reflects upon his desire for Isabella:
What, do I love her
That I desire to hear her speak again
And feast upon her eyes? What is ’t I dream on?
O cunning enemy that, to catch a saint,
With saints dost bait thy hook. Most dangerous
Is that temptation that doth goad us on
To sin in loving virtue. Never could the strumpet
With all her double vigor, art and nature,
Once stir my temper, but this virtuous maid
Subdues me quite.
Related Themes:
Act 2, Scene 4
Explanation and Analysis—These Filthy Vices:
In refusing Isabella’s pleas for clemency for her brother, Claudio, Angelo condemns those who engage in sex outside of marriage. This speech is ironic given his own feelings of lust for Isabella, who is a novice nun barred from marriage.
Unlock with LitCharts A+Ha! Fie, these filthy vices! It were as good
To pardon him that hath from nature stolen
A man already made, as to remit
Their saucy sweetness that do coin God’s image
In stamps that are forbid.
Related Themes:
Act 4, Scene 5
Explanation and Analysis—An Eminent Body:
In a soliloquy, Angelo muses on his own hypocrisies and self-contradictions:
Unlock with LitCharts A+This deed unshapes me quite, makes me unpregnant
And dull to all proceedings. A deflowered maid,
And by an eminent body that enforced
The law against it. But that her tender shame
Will not proclaim against her maiden loss,
How might she tongue me! Yet reason dares her no,
For my authority bears of a credent bulk
That no particular scandal once can touch
But it confounds the breather.
Related Themes:
