Aside

An aside is a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention the audience is to realize that the character's speech is unheard by the other characters on stage. It may be addressed to the audience expressly (in character or out) or represent an unspoken thought. An aside is usually a brief comment, rather than a speech, such as a monologue or soliloquy. Unlike a public announcement, it occurs within the context of the play. An aside is, by convention, a true statement of a character's thought; a character may be mistaken in an aside, but may not be dishonest.

Examples

This technique is used by many playwrights, including William Shakespeare. For instance, in the play Macbeth, Macbeth has the following aside:

Here is another example in the Shakespeare play Hamlet:

This technique has frequently been used in film comedy, for example in the Bob Hope "Road" comedies, Woody Allen comedies and in Ferris Bueller's Day Off

See also

• "Breaking the fourth wall": Fourth wall

References

• Glossary of Literary Terms, which mentions the aside
• Bevington, David (1962). From Mankind to Marlowe. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
• Cox, John D. and David Scott Kastan (Eds) (1997). A New History of English Drama. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Salingar, Leo (1972). Shakespeare and the Traditions of Comedy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.