Aside : used during a play to allow the audience to ‘overhear’ the character’s thoughts. An aside occurs when other actors are on stage, but the person speaking does so as if it is ‘under their breath’ or, spoken so the audience hears, but not the other characters on stage. This enables the audience a glimpse into what the character is thinking.
Soliloquy : a Soliloquy is like an aside, but the character speaking is alone. This is much like an aside, but there are no other characters present. Again, it is a chance for the audience to ‘get inside’ the character’s head. Hamlet’s famous ‘to be, or not to be’ Soliloquy is a good example of this.
Tragedy : This one is a bit easy, as the name gives it away. A tragedy is a play that has a tragic ending for the hero or heroine …. in the case of Hamlet and other Shakespearean tragedies, this usually involves the deaths of multiple characters.
