Previous
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
Part 1, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Anthony:
For a large portion of Part 1, Chapter 2, Anthony Blanche soliloquizes his stream-of-consciousness thoughts about the Flyte/Brideshead/Marchmain clan, speaking to Charles over the course of an evening. The following excerpt is but a portion of this soliloquy, taken as example:
"Poor man, he is very South American…. I never heard anyone speak an ill word of Stefanie, except the Duke: and she, my dear, is positively cretinous.”
Anthony had lost his stammer in the deep waters of his old romance. It came floating back to him, momentarily, with the coffee and liqueurs. “Real G-g-green Chartreuse, made before the expulsion of the monks. There are five distinct tastes as it trickles over the tongue. It is like swallowing a sp-spectrum. Do you wish Sebastian was with us? Of course you do. Do I?"
It speaks to the characters of both men that Blanche so willingly looses his thoughts on Charles and that Charles so quietly listens. The former man is an aesthete with the audacity to constantly demand an audience. And Charles—he is a follower, an expert in mirroring, a man held in thrall by audacious people. Despite his frequent irritation with Anthony Blanche, Charles cannot help but cede the floor to him, giving Anthony the space and capacity to demand his attention.
