Hi everyone! Victoria C. Slotto is handling the session today!
Solilo-Quoi?
Greetings dVerse Poets,
What a joy it is to be with you again after such a long absence. I wish I could say I will stay for good, but other needs have taken hold of my time. I’m grateful to Grace for inviting me to be a guest host today for Meeting the Bar.
I’ve noticed much creativity here in terms of form, so I’m choosing to take a form that Frank Hubeny has already covered for you while tweaking it just a bit. So let’s discuss Soliloquy…a literary device peculiar to drama but infused with a sense of poetry.
Soliloquy is a form of speech spoken aloud by a character but addressed to no one except his or her self. The purpose of the soliloquy is to allow the audience to get a glimpse of the character’s inner thoughts and feelings while keeping them hidden from the other characters. The soliloquy differs from a monologue in that the latter is spoken so that other characters may be made privy to the speaker’s point of view. A soliloquy can express thoughts, emotions, intentions, plans and desires. It can influence the unfolding of the plot and can create irony.
We find some of the greatest examples of soliloquy in the works of Shakespeare. Check out Hamlet or Othello for examples.
Now for the “Quoi?” (What?) part of the prompt. It’s obvious that I am asking you to write a soliloquy, but I would like you to make an effort to include some clear examples of one or more poetic devices of your choosing in your self-talk. Here is a Solilo-Quoi? I wrote for this prompt.
Soliloquy
To be or not to be the poet I once knew.
My muse has scampered to places afar.
I mourn her loss yet embrace the present,
The biddings of my new North Star.
Should I regret the moments sparse
To voice my soul in pleasing verse?
To savor the delight of tasty words?
Or shall I just immerse
My Self, responding to the days’
Demands as they unfold.
Be still, my spirit for I know
And attend the challenges and joys
Of growing old.
I’ve attempted to include some loose rhyming schemes and meter, as well as enjambment and synesthesia. You will find prompts I have written previously on those last two devices are here and here.
To join in, simply write your poem and post it on your webpage. Copy and paste the URL of your post into Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post and remember to check the box re: privacy policy, and leave a comment.
Come on into the pub and visit the work of your fellow poets, leaving a comment for them. Above all, enjoy the opportunity dVerse offers us to explore creative expression and to share with fellow pubsters. Guest-hosting today, this is Victoria—glad to be with you again.
dVerse 
Hello Grace and Victoria, this was a challenge to do, thank you for providing your example, my poem was written in a hurry.
Hello Bjorn. Good for you. My poem is still unfinished and it is left hanging in my head.
That sounds like a real soliloquy,,, they are often hard to get out since it means talking to ourselves.
Don’t let you head become too crowded will you else you might devise a Jumble Poem that Maniacs(Manic depressives like me devise – utter nonsense)
Happy to “see” you, Bjorn. Will read soon.
Hello everyone. Victoria will be here in a bit after her appointment. Hope you are keeping cool with the last bit of summer sun in my part of the world.
Thanks for opening up, Grace. We still have warmth but can’t enjoy it because of the dangerous level of smoke due to the fires in Northern California.
Well, this is basically my entire style. 🙂
Hello all, glad to be here for a particularly challenging challenge! I’m not sure I correctly captured the internal monologue, but it was fun to try…
Hi Ingrid. Internal monologue are difficult to capture and write on. It is like private conversations of your self.
So glad you took up the challenge, Ingrid. Looking forward to read your work.
Hello Victoria, Bjorn, Grace, and All. I wrote this with pen and paper first, which set me up with an less mechanistic vehicle than the usual keyboard. It’s more like stream of consciousness than anything but it fits hopefully. It’s another scorcher out there with the quickie thunderstorm that blew through a day or so ago doing little to water anything. One pint of Magners please!
That is a good writing process too. Here is a pint of mangers for you!!! Stay cool.
Thank you, Grace, and Cheers!
I see a close relationship between soliloquy and stream of consciousness writing with the possible exception that soliloquy tends to have a particular focus where stream of consciousness jumps all over the place…at least my monkey mind does.
I appreciate your insight.
I first encountered the word soliloquy about 75 years ago when a boy cousin lent me his set of Zane Grey westerns. Grey’s stalwart and quiet cowboy heroes often soliloquized, and the word fascinated me. It still holds its fascination. Thanks for showcasing it, Victoria …. and, by the way, good to see you again!
Good to see you, too, Beverly. I like the reference to Zane Grey.
Greetings, everyone…sorry to be late in welcoming you to the bar. I will jump in soon to comment and look forward to reading. I’ve missed being a part of this wonderful creative place and I’ve missed your friendship.
Greetings everyone! Another great challenge … thinkin’ I’m gonna want a Woodford on the rocks .. double.
Coming up, Helen…as soon as I look it up in my bartender’s guide!
Hi, Victoria–and all! This was quite a challenge. I tried to capture the sort of internal monologues I have and imagine it spoken.
Great approach, Merril. That’s pretty much the definition.
😀
Luv the Shapespeare cartoon.
Good Thursday poetry friends
Much❤lovd
Would you like some brie to go with you Cab, Gilly? :0)
Welcome back Victoria… Soliloquy sounds interesting…. I think I will give it a try. Sort of like talking to myself! :>)
Some of us do a lot of that, heh?
Ha ha… yes, I am afraid so!
Hi Vicky! Great to ‘see’ you again. Great prompt. I’m up for something minty, how about a mint julep, or a mojito? I hope you find the time to squeeze out a poem every once in a while -eric
Sent from my iPhone
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Mojito coming up, my friend. Good to see you, Eric.
Thank you Grace, Victoria, for hosting. I am not certain this is what you were looking for, but this is a conversation I have had with myself, many times in my life — though fewer and fewer times as I’ve grown older. But the essence is seared into my psyche, so it was not too difficult to access.
Can’t wait to see what rolls around in your brain, Rob.
Excellent prompt, Victoria. I found it to be an amusing piece to work with, and judging from at least the first twenty or so entries, the patrons of the bar have certainly managed to find some creative depth to rise to the occasion.
Nice to meet you, Masa.
I’ll be at the bar, on the stool with a leg just a touch too short.
Good to see you here again, Victoria! I had a big day of canning tomato soup and mowing so headed to bed….just wanted to say “hello” 🙂
My special farmer friend! I envy your lifestyle, Lynn, and your beautiful spirit. Thanks for saying hello.
❤
awesome
Hi, all, this was a fun one– as always. Thanks for All the challenges. Tops!
As for drinks, I’ll have what Helen is having. Thank you.
And then I’m heading to bed. Thanks so very much. Enjoy your Friday. Notice the miracles, please. xoxo
One whatever-it-is coming up, Selma. Looking forward to reading your contribution.
🥃 cheers. Thanks so much.
Hi Grace and Victoria. Took me quite sometime but finally I did write something.
So glad you made the effort. Will go read now.
Thanks for hosting Grace and Victoria C. Slotto. I enjoyed writing to this challenge.
So glad you enjoyed it, Kitty
🙂
Oh, hey, Linky is still live. Now I have to write this lol.
Sneaking in?
Hi, all, It was a nice prompt as well as something new for me.