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Situational Irony
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
Key Examples in Moby-Dick
Chapter 37: Sunset
Explanation and Analysis—Sunset Soliloquy:
Ahab’s soliloquies are used as a device to highlight his isolation and introspection away from the other characters while also drawing attention to the influence of Ishmael’s voice. Chapter 37, entitled “Sunset,” details Ahab’s reflections on his determination to forge his own destiny. The soliloquy in this chapter is a particularly interesting example, since it's written in the form of a play, complete with stage directions and all. Ahab, alone in his cabin, asserts his conviction in his mission to take revenge on Moby Dick:
What I’ve dared, I’ve willed; and what I’ve willed, I’ll do! They think me mad—Starbuck does; but I’m demoniac, I am madness maddened! [...] I now prophesy that I will dismember my dismemberer. Now, then, be the prophet and the fulfiller one. That’s more than ye, ye great gods, ever were. I laugh and hoot at ye.
Related Themes:
