Role Of Family In Mental Health Social Work Essay

Role Of Family In Mental Health Social Work Essay As a potter molds clay to form a beautiful creation, so does the strong family support and good values does. Family bonds are a link from the beginning and guide to future. Early influences are fundamental to individual development. Everyone wants to belong and feel accepted. A sense of belonging is derived from the strong bond of family. Family is where roots take hold and grow. We are molded within a unit, which prepares one for the experiences of the world and reactions to those experiences. A close family bond is like a safe harbor where one finds refuge. From trusting that someone will pick us up when we fall, as a toddler, to someone being there for us as we experience the storms in life. Family bonds help to instill trust, hope and belief in ourselves. The other hand if family doesnt have attachment, poor relationship, insecurity and anger can lead to negative consequences like isolating, low self image, anger and pain inside them. If one isnt loved as a child, they may later seek love and acceptance in a way that brings them harm. This not only affects the emotional, physical and social well-being. The poor self-image may be with the patients throughout life, causing inability to make positive choices or be close to others. Strong family bonds help us to thrive in all aspects of life. Lack of these bonds can lead to forever seeking that something which is missing and one should not take the value of family bonds for granted. Along the farm duties, family usually faces burdens. Yip (2005) identified three types of burdens in family care giving of persons with mental illness. Objective burdens are financial burdens, time and effort in care giving of family caregivers. Subjective burdens are feelings of loss, shame, worry, anger, and hopelessness of family caregivers towards their relatives with mental illness. Finally, there are burdens in management of problem behaviors like assault, mood swing, unpredictability, and other negative symptoms due to mental illness of a family member. Along with the burdens, there are benefits when family stay with mentally ill person. Often patients listen to their family because they are close to each other and every disease needs cure and family is the major support. They can help their family member to involve in the social and family activities, by involving them in rehabilitation program, encouraging other family members and friends to invite the ill family member to join them in activities and by respecting the need of solitude. Scenario: My patient was a 17 years old female, forth among seven siblings, with the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Her pre morbid personality was that she was always a different child, quite and always thinking. She had no friends and was never interested to talk to her sisters as well. She never took part in household chores and when asked to help, she used to get angry, and never participated. She had a jealousy component in her as the mother always admired her elder sister and degraded her. Before hospitalization she even had hallucinations and delusions. While talking to the patient, she verbalized that I dont like my sisters because everyone compares them with me. Patients mother also accepted that she had always given importance to the elder sister and pointed out the client that she is the laziest person of the family. May be this could be a reason of patients anger, frustration and not having a caring attitude towards family. Significance of family support in Pakistani context: Family support is a very important part of our entire Pakistani nation. Family support is given a lot of importance in terms of family bonding, love and affection. On the other hand there are few families which do not pay attention to this important issue. The family support is important because it effects on physical, psychological and social well being of an individual. In the Pakistani context no such study is been done on familys role in ones life. According to Mansoor (2008) Family system in Pakistan states that each member of a Pakistani family has respect for the older family members. The parents feel responsible for teaching their children the basic beliefs of the chosen religion. Looking at the scenario mentioned above the family has paid less attention to the child because of huge family, house hold responsibilities and low socio-economic system. According to my understanding when a child grows in a close kit family they learn to appreciate all the members of family and nev er hesitate to accompany their elders or youngers in public. I believe that strong family bond serves as catalysis for everyones joy. This is because the family has its rules and regulations and when these rules and regulations are strictly followed it brings joy to the whole family and helps in community building. There is always the belief that good families can make a good society. Strong family bonds create an atmosphere of interference in the affairs of one another. For example a strong and united family the elders do not abandon the family, but they keep taking care of their parents and their younger ones in times of troubles. Significance of family support in western world is on appendix 1. Analysis of concept in the light of literature: During the 1950s, Murray Bowen gave family system theory. Theory affirms that the individual can change behavior if aware of the impact of current and historical family behavior. It works on family as well as on the emotional health of an individual. Bowen summarized his theory using seven interlocking concepts. First three concepts apply to overall family and other four are related to family characteristics. Differentiation of self The concept of differentiation of self measures all human functioning on a continuum from the greatest emotional fusion of self boundaries to the highest degree of differentiation or autonomy. In my patients scenario self was suppressed from the childhood in the result of that her family relationship were not strong. A lot of family criticism was there. Children were not allowed to take their own decision; instead they have to do whatever parents asked. The example is secular studies were compromised and the client was put in Madrasa to learn and recite Quran. As a result the family bonding went down. Her issue were not given importance and taken as a least important person of the family. She was never paid attention for whatever she did; the reason could be huge family, less differences between children and poverty. The continuum of differentiation of self is discussed more in detail in appendix 2. Triangles Triangle is a predictable emotional process that takes place when difficulty exists in a significant relationship, and the third entity is included. In my patients scenario, the triangle has three ends. One is father, another mother and the third is the patient. The conflicts between parents have a great impact on child and that can leave lifelong effects on ones life. In my clients scenario the parents had conflicts between them and research indicates that the longer parental conflict continue, greater the tension between the parents, the greater the likelihood that psychological difficulties will result for children such as emotional and behavior problems, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, low self-esteem, school problems and a number of other difficulties. The example of family triangle is on appendix 3. Nuclear Family Emotional System These are patterns of interaction between family members and the degree to which these patterns promote emotional fusion. In my clients picture she was always projected that she never participates in house hold chores and is the laziest person of the family. This indeed led to low self esteem and hopelessness. Most of the patients develop hopelessness because of shame and guilt of being poor. According to Patel Kleinman (2003) stated that hopelessness is a core experience: it is associated with spouse and family abuse, forced marriages, limited educational and work prospects, stigma for failing to produce a son, and the migration of husbands to urban areas for employment. The family projection process It is the projection of spouses problem onto one or more children to avoid intense emotional fusion between the spouses. This also fits into the clients scenario that because of poverty and low socio economic status parent and child were not able to create bond between them. The economic stressors such as unemployment, low income, and lack of affordable housing, are more likely to precede mental illness.(Hudson, 2005 ) Multigenerational Transmission Process This refers to the transmission of a family projection process. The nature and degree of intensity of emotional responses are passed down from generation to generation. Levels of differentiation are affected through generations based on levels of differentiation of partners as they marry. This was not exactly explored during the interaction but it could be a part of patients illness. Emotional cutoff The concept of emotional cutoff describes people managing their unresolved emotional issues with parents, siblings, and other family members by reducing or totally cutting off emotional contact with them. In my patients case she became isolated from the family. This could be because she has some concerns from the family but they were never addressed and she got emotionally cutoff from it. Siblings position There is an impact of sibling position on development and behavior. Most of the time it is practiced that older child is the leader and the youngers are the followers. My patient follows exactly in this category. She is forth among seven siblings. She never liked her mother to say that be like your elder sister and never liked to follow her elder sisters. (Stuart, 2001) See appendices 4 for the factors left. Intervention: At individual level, a mental health nurse can take time for the patient and encourage them to ventilate their feelings. Moreover, while giving teaching to the patients, nurse can discuss the coping strategies. She can provide holistic care and address the problems and concerns accordingly, as the need of the individual. The nurse can provide the most important informations to the patient that is the need for the understanding their own responsibility. Make them aware of the importance of family support which is necessary for them. The interventions done on the client includes family teaching on dealing with hallucination and delusions that was informal. Mother was given teaching on stress management and coping mechanism. Client was involved in occupational therapy example making sit upon, coloring, drawing, collage work, making bands and so on to see the concentration level and keep the patient busy and asked the family to keep patient involved. At group level family can also involved with patient, to be aware of patients condition and involve them actively in patients care. The individual can be involved in group therapies for example milieu and occupational therapy. Moreover, in Pakistan, organizations should be made which can involve families who have clients with mental illness so that they can share their concerns, ventilate their feeling and reform solutions to problems. Some organization can also work to reduce the poverty and socio-economic instability, which is one of the leading factors of mental illness. At institutional level different groups of health care professional can be train for the risk assessment, can conduct the educational session on importance and role of family in ones life. Moreover, seminars can be held for general public regarding awareness of mental illness, coping skills to reduce stress and to ventilate their feeling. Hence, I would like to recommend that health care workers should be more vigilant towards clients health. At governmental level, organizations should be made to teach skills to clients for earning and to feel them self-empower. In addition, it is role of a nurse to identify the concerns in clients, spend time with the clients for their ventilation of feelings, should not be judgmental regarding clients complains and try to resolve their issues collaboratively with clients, families and other health care providers. My own learning Reflection: Through this paper writing my horizon of thinking about family role has more broaden. I always had a thought that mental illness occurs more often with parental conflicts but it has many other dimensions to look at. Going through different researches I came to know that love and affection are the important aspects which can help a mentally ill patient to live a normal life and when one is deprived from it can end into many other issues. The misconceptions I had before about mentally ill patients were that they are harmful and attacking but now I realized that they are only looking for love and someone to listen them. Mentally ill patients are also human and they should be treated as human beings, this is their right and they should get it. Conclusion: In conclusion, low family sociability, the extent to which family members derive and seek   gratification from social interaction with others along with a lack of cohesion explicitly, the extent to which family members have bonding towards one another is important. Conflicts between family members, authoritarian family styles, the extent to which parents dominate the locus of rule making and low family sociability plays a significant role in ones life. Importance of Family lies in the fact that one can discuss matters with the other family members and search solution from discussions. At times, conflict appears in a family but enough space should be provided to their opinions and views. In modern days, we have seen that joint families have broken up into nuclear families and a nuclear family consists of a couple and their children. In western countries, nuclear families are the norm but in many eastern countries, joint families still exist. Children receive guidance from the family as to what they should do or what they should not do. The Importance of Family lies in the fact that it determines to a large extent the social roles that the children will perform. Family support and bond can help an individual to come out from stressors, mental illness and other health problems. References: Abelenda. J., Helfrich. C., A. (2003). Family resilience and mental illness: The role of occupational therapy. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 19 (1), pge # Edalati.A., Redzuan. M., Mansor. M., Abu Talib. M. (2010). Family values and females psychological aggression.Malaysia Journal of Social Sciences 6 (1), 8-13. Katie M., Rootes.H., Peter J., Jankowski., Steven J Sandage. (2009). Bowen family systems theory and spirituality: exploring the relationship between triangulation and religious questing. Springer science business media, LLC. Mansoor.H. Family System in Pakistan. Retrieved on April 21st, 2010 from http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hayi_MansoorHYPERLINK http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Hayi_Mansoor . Marshall.T., Solomon P., Steber. S.A., M.S.S., Mannion E. (2003). Provider and family beliefs regarding the causes of severe mental illness. Psychiatric Quarterly, 74,(3). Mental illness and poverty. A fact sheet. (2007). Florida council for community mental health. Retrieved on April 10th,2010. Nichols, M. P. Schwartz, R. C. (2001). Bowen family systems therapy. In M. P. Nichols R. C. Schwartz, family therapy: Concepts and methods. 5th ed., pp. 137-171. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Retrieved on April 15th, 2010. Patel. V., Kleinman. A. (2003). Poverty and common mental disorders in developing Countries. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 81 (8). Retrieved on April 13th, 2010. Schizophrenia: The Journey to Recovery. (2007). A consumer and family guide to assessment and treatment. Canadian psychiatric association schizophrenia society of Canada. Retrieved on April 20th, 2010. Stuart, G. W. (2001). Principles and practice of psychiatric nursing. 7th ed. St. Louis: Mosby. Sven.D. (1998). Family ties in Western Europe: Persistent contrasts. 17 Population and Development review, 24 ( 2). Retrieved on April 18th, 2010. Time magazine teen age pregnancy. (2006). Children having children-teenage pregnancy in America. Retrived on april 22nd, 2010 from http//: teenage pregnancy single parent families society and modern ailments rape sexual assault.mht Videbeck, S. L. (2004). Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. Philadelphia: Lippincott. Yip.K.S. (2005). Family intervention and services for persons with mental illness in the peoples Republic of China. Journal of Family Social Work, 9 (1). Appendices 1: Significance of family support in western context: According to Sven.D. 1998 There are regions where traditionally the family group has priority over the individual and others are opposite, with the individual and there values having priority over everything else. The geography of these family systems suggests that North America, center and northern Europe has been characterized having relatively weak family links. There are indications that these differences have deep historical roots. There is little to suggest that they are diminishing today in any fundamental manner. The way in which the relationship between the family group and its members manifest itself has implications for the way society itself functions. According to my thinking, in western world, families have less importance, may be because of their fantasy world, interference they dont like or freedom they are fond of. In the west, kids are allowed to leave parents at the age of 18 as they are mature and can take their own decisions and responsibility and parents dont mi nd it because its their trend, as a result single parent family comes into existence. According to Jill Francis, of the National Childrens Bureau, There are four main reasons why teen age unmarried girls in Britain become pregnant. The likelihood becoming pregnant as a teen increased if one had parents who were inattentive, unloving, or failed to instill moral values with no family bonding. Girls whose mothers were teenage mums are more likely to do the same. Here the question arises that if this situation will continue, will there be family bonding in upcoming years? It is important for the family to understand the importance of family role in order to save the generation from mental illness, as families role is one of the biggest factors contributing towards mental disorder. The concept of family is somewhere far but those who belief in family bonding are still holding their hands together. Appendix 2: High differentiation Low differentiation Fusion with others. Personal autonomy Blends thoughts and feelings. Distinguish between thoughts Emotionally reactive when stressed. and feelings. Retains objectively when stressed.

Health Nursing

Public Health is the science and art of protecting and improving the health of the communities through education, promotion of healthy life styles and research for disease and injury prevention. Public Health helps improve the health and well being of people in local communities around the world also works to prevent problems before they occur. Public health nursing is a specialized form of registered nursing that combines nursing and public health principles.According to the American Public Health Association, the primary focus of public health nursing is improving the health of the community as a whole rather than just that of an individual or family. Public health nursing is sometimes called a type of community health nursing. Some experts use the terms â€Å"public health nursing† and â€Å"community health nursing† interchangeably. Public Health Nursing provides health promotion, disease prevention, and intervention and support services to women, children, youth an d families living in the Capital Region.Services are provided to individuals, families, groups and communities in homes, schools, health units and community setting Community health nursing a field of nursing that is a blend of primary health care and nursing practice with public health nursing. The community health nurse conducts a continuing and comprehensive practice that is preventive, curative, and rehabilitative. The philosophy of care is based on the belief that care directed to the individual, the family, and the group contributes to the health care of the population as a whole.The community health nurse is not restricted to the care of a particular age or diagnostic group. Participation of all consumers of health care is encouraged in the development of community activities that contribute to the promotion of, education about, and maintenance of good health. These activities require comprehensive health programs that pay special attention to social and ecologic influences a nd specific populations at risk. Basic Principles of CHN 1. The community is the patient in CHN, the family is the unit of care and here are four levels  of  clientele: individual,  family,  population  group (those who share common characteristics, developmental stages and common exposure to health problems – e. g. children, elderly), and the community. 2. In CHN, the  client is considered as an ACTIVE partner NOT PASSIVE recipient  of  care 3. CHN practice  is  affected by  developments in  health  technology,  in  particular, changes in society, in general 4. The goal of CHN is achieved through multi- sectoral efforts 5.CHN is a part  of health care system and the larger human services system. Specific Responsibilities of a Nurse, spelled by the implementing rules and Regulations of   RA 7164 (Philippine Nursing Act of 1991) includes: †¢ Supervision and care of women during  pregnancy, labor and puerperium †¢ Performance of int ernal examination and delivery of babies †¢ Suturing lacerations in the absence of  a physician †¢ Provision of first aid measures and emergency care †¢ Recommending herbal and symptomatic meds†¦etc.In the care of the families: †¢ Provision of primary health care services †¢ Developmental/Utilization of family nursing care plan in  the provision of care In the care of the communities: †¢Community  organizing  mobilization,  community  development  and  people empowerment †¢Case finding and  epidemiological investigation †¢Program planning,  implementation and evaluation †¢Influencing executive and legislative individuals or bodies concerning health and development. Responsibilities of CHN be a part in developing an overall health plan, its implementation and evaluationfor communities   †¢provide quality nursing services to the three levels of clientele †¢maintain  coordination/linkages  with  oth er  health  team  members, NGO/government agencies in  the provision of  public health services †¢ conduct researches relevant to CHN services to improve provision of health care †¢ provide opportunities for professional growth and continuing education for staff  development; http://www. answers. com/topic/public-health-nursing#ixzz2Do73aZIE

How Films Change Perception Essay

There are many ways in which movies or films may become art. Art can be expressed through color, angles, character development, plot, even scenery; or all of these combined. In the movie Il Postino there is a certain art of the film which allows the viewer to become part of the story, to fall in love as the characters fall in love, through the expression of words and moments. This paper will focus on how movies or films help in changing a person’s perspective through the use of characters, plot, scenery, camera angles, filter use, and the overall ambience of a film, mainly focusing on Il Postino. A film is a gateway by which the viewing audience is immersed in another person’s life which includes their family, their culture, and their environment. Due to the relationship which the camera has with the character, the audience feels as though they too have a bond with the protagonists of the film. By extension then, the characters’ life becomes the audience’s reality. The brilliance of movies is that there are so many ways in which to depict varied cultures and for each film there is a chance for the audience member to exchange, expound, and change their own perspective in light of the information they are given from the characters’ lives. It is through this part of the film, the expression of love in its diverse and dynamic multidimensional forms that the viewer is allowed to partake in the film, be hypnotized with the characters and it is this that makes Il Postino an art film, and how it can change an audience members own perspective. Films are not only seen as an art form, but they are also used in a cultural context in order to present to the viewing public historical events. These historical events may be subject to biases such as in propaganda films (D. W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation) or they may present documentaries in which plan objectivism is the point of the film (i. e. Bush’s Brain). A film does not only transport the viewer into different cultures but gives the world a chance to see the unfolding of history through the perspective of the people who lived through it such as films documenting the effects of Hiroshima’s bomb, and the radiation which ensued directly afterwards with first person accounts. Therefore the lens of history is unclouded with such unbiased documentaries. Films are also a means of therapy and identification. Some films are so profound in their depiction of a character’s life that the audience member completely identifies with that person and a sub-cult forms based on the movie. These sub-cults can be seen with the movies The Godfather, Rocky Horror Picture Show, or even Psycho. In these films an audience member can identify or want to encompass the way of life of these characters to such an extent that they may go and join the mafia, become transsexual, or even become an integral part of the Hitchcock fan base in which pure horror is the objective of the movie, â€Å"Shots of Gothic manors lit by lightening, of shadows glimpsed under doors, or of a hand gliding along a banister, are examples of the ‘spectacular means’ of horror; they are the kind of devices that have been used so often that they have come to define the genre of the horror movie† (White The Poetics of Horror 1). Thus, movies go beyond displaying forms of a culture and begin to instigate their own subcultures. More subcultures will form from a movie that is subjective in which the audience member can come closely to identifying with the main character. The objective films in which an more omnipresent perspective of the unfolding of the lives of the main characters is not warranted to becoming a sub cultural formation but has its own merits nonetheless. In the way in which the main character Mario lives, in his final act of love for the poet Neruda is found this close perspective of the film. It is not because the film is about poetry that makes Il Postino an art film that audience members identify with but rather is it how the characters embrace their own personalities, their own loves and destinies that transforms the film from one of typical romance into great romance. The transformation of these two protagonists is the center of making this film art. Their responses to one another, their paradigm of poetry and love of life allow the viewer that voyeuristic look into the characters’ reality. This is what art does, this is why the movie is art. Even the final act of Beatrice giving Neruda Mario’s tape recorder is an act of poetry, a final salute the two friend’s past. The unfolding of their lives becomes a poignant moment in the audience member’s lives as well since the movie showed a close perspective of the protagonists’ lives. Films also have a heavy impact on a person’s life when the point of the film is to present the audience with propaganda, especially during wartime. In the British side, the official task of the War Propaganda Bureau headed by Lord Northcliffe was to alter the minds of the British into thinking that the war’s aim was to stop the nearing catastrophe the Germans and their allies created. Indeed, the war was molded in that concept and fed to the people. However, the extent of mid-altering and opinion-swaying came to an extent never before imagined. The meaning of propaganda clearly states that it the most legal way of changing the mindsets and perceptions of people; and only a powerful institution can do such a thing, for no individual or government can uphold and spread propaganda without sufficient resources. In the aim of altering or distorting the people’s emotions, a government has to adopt utmost carefulness in order to achieve its goal of merging together all the people’s sentiments and turning it into a national mindset. Propaganda is the intentional, organized attempt to mold perceptions, alter understanding and dictate behavior to garner a response that will suffice the wishes of the propagandist. War propaganda was born in the World War I. In a war, the side which employs a more powerful and thought-penetrating propaganda despite disadvantage in strength and in number, possesses the innate advantage. This was done to maintain the morale at home and be in perfect synchronization with allies abroad. The British propaganda was the most superior and was even highly regarded worldwide even by their German foes. Propaganda, as it was utilized in World War I, was the ruination of the human soul. The British were best at doing such defilement. Lumley (1933) stated that propaganda is the intentional effort to affect the minds and emotions of people. On the other hand, the Germans at the start of the war had experienced the culmination of their government’s own propaganda, the Spirit of 1914, as German propagandists made the citizens particularly the elite classes perceives the upcoming war as a means of unifying the peoples of Europe. By the end of the war, the Germans saw it as a distant memory and a misleading notion. There one could conclude regarding the striking contrasts between the propaganda of Britain and Germany. Germany, as well as the other nations of the Central Powers led its people to believe that the war to be waged was to achieve a noble cause whilst Britain led its people to see the war as a means to putting a halt to the advance of the German militaristic menace. To guarantee that no additional or unwanted knowledge flowed into the public and for the governments to at least give the people some information just for the sake of informing them, all sorts of information were filtered. Information media were tight and under scrutiny. Media, like the newspaper for instance, print filtered news that is sanctioned by the government because if otherwise, they will be the subject of penalties. The government made people read what they only want them to read. For example in Britain, censorship was the key ingredient because newspapers were run by the media barons who were more than willing to cooperate. They helped print headlines which made emotions of the British civilians surge in anger, depicting Germans in utmost cruelty and picturing the German leaders as bellicose bullies. Inevitably, across in Western Europe the same was also happening in Germany, where the authorities propagandized the British as sadistic towards their German captives. In all of the countries, propaganda was also behind the altering of casualty figures which were lessened considerably to make the people optimistic of the outcome. Just as films are maneuvered to present a specific and altered point of view during a war, or a film presents the viewer with point of view perspective of a culture, so too does a film bring forth international cultures that reflect a specific country. This view point can be seen in films such as Amelie in which the protagonist searches the film through for a boy who dropped a picture book, and the reflection of quirky natures of the main characters is portrayed and the way in which the French easily examine sexuality in the film (as in the scene where the man works in a sex shop). Films are not only used to portray and represent different cultures to the audience but they may also be used for educational purposes. This goes beyond the scope of sex education films but can also include driving safely videos, or even military outfits gain instruction from a film on how to survive out in the wild. Despite all of the facets that a film may provide for an audience member; be it differing views on culture, educational purposes, propaganda, the main purpose, and the one that makes all of the others seemingly obsolete is that of the movie’s entertainment value. Audience members attend films in order to escape their own reality for a while, the immerse themselves in another person’s perspective, their reality. Thus, movies perform a function in society of entertainment, of escapism, of fantasy, and that is their main appeal. Works Cited Carrol, Noel. Nightmare and the Horror Film: The Symbolic Biology of Fantastic Beings. Film Quarterly. Vol. 34, No. 3. pp16-25. Spring 1981. Cull, N. J. Selling War: The British Propaganda Campaign against American Neutrality in World War II. London: Oxford University Press. 1997. Il Postino. Blue Dahlia Productions. 1994. White, Dennis L. The Poetics of Horror More than Meets the Eye. â€Å"Cinema Journal† Vol. 10, No. 2. pp1-18. Spring 1971.

What Is a Soliloquy Literary Definition and Examples

A soliloquy (pronounced suh-lil-uh-kwee), a literary device used in drama, is a speech  that reveals a characters  internal thoughts, motivations, or plans. Characters usually deliver soliloquies while they are alone, but if other characters are present, they remain silent and appear to be unaware that the character is talking. When delivering soliloquies, characters often seem to be â€Å"thinking out loud.† Soliloquies are found in dramatic works.   Coming from a combination of the Latin words solo, meaning â€Å"to himself,† and loquor, meaning â€Å"I speak,† a soliloquy offers playwrights a handy way of keeping the audience aware of the play’s plot and progress, as well as providing insight into a characters private motivations and desires. The soliloquy reached the height of its popularity during the Renaissance period. The use of soliloquy  has fallen since the late 18th century when drama shifted to the â€Å"Stanislavsky System† of realism—the accurate portrayal of real life in performances. Today, the soliloquy is known as â€Å"direct address† in movies and television. Why Writers Use Soliloquy By giving the audience  exclusive â€Å"insider† knowledge of what their characters are thinking, playwrights can create dramatic irony and suspense. Soliloquies allow the audience to know things that other characters do not—like who’s going to die next. Because soliloquies must have a visual component to be effective, they are most often used in plays, movies, and television shows. Soliloquy, Monologue, or Aside? The monologue and the aside are often confused with the soliloquy. All three literary devices involve a solitary speaker, but they have two key differences: the length of the solitary speech, and who is supposed to hear it. Soliloquy vs. Monologue In a soliloquy, the character makes a lengthy speech to him or herself. In a monologue, the character delivers a speech to other characters with the clear intent of being heard by them. For example, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, when Hamlet asks, â€Å"To be or not to be†¦?†, he is speaking to himself in a soliloquy. However, when Julius Caesars  Mark Antony says â€Å"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him,†Ã‚  he is delivering a monologue to the characters at Caesars funeral. In simple terms, if other characters can hear and possibly respond to what a character is saying, the speech cannot be a soliloquy. Soliloquy vs. Aside Both a soliloquy and an aside are used to reveal a character’s secret thoughts and motives. However, an aside is shorter than a soliloquy—typically only one or two sentences—and is directed at the audience. Other characters are often present when an aside is delivered, but they do not hear the aside. In plays and movies, the character making the aside will often turn away from the other characters and face the audience or camera while speaking. A classic example of an aside comes in Act 1 of Hamlet.  The King of Denmark has just died and the throne has passed to his brother, Claudius (who is the plays  antagonist). Prince Hamlet, who was denied the throne when Claudius married the late king’s wife, feels depressed, even calling his Uncle Claudius’ marriage, â€Å"foul incest.† When Claudius speaks to Hamlet, calling him â€Å"my cousin Hamlet, and my son,† Hamlet, who now secretly feels far more related to Claudius than he wants to be, turns to the audience and says as an aside, â€Å"A little more than kin, and less than kind.† Early Examples of Soliloquy from Shakespeare Clearly influenced by the Renaissance, Shakespeare used soliloquies as some of the most powerful scenes in his plays. Through his soliloquies, Shakespeare exposed the innermost conflicts, thoughts, and diabolical plots of his always complicated characters. Hamlet’s Suicidal Soliloquy Perhaps the best-known soliloquy in the English language takes place in Hamlet, when Prince Hamlet considers the peaceful alternative of death by suicide to suffering a lifetime of â€Å"slings and arrows† at the hands of his murderous uncle Claudius: â€Å"To be, or not to be, that is the question:Whether tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,And by opposing end them: to die, to sleepNo more; and by a sleep, to say we endthe heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocksthat Flesh is heir to? Tis a consummationdevoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,To sleep, perchance to Dream; aye, theres the rub, [†¦]† Though another character, Ophelia, is present when Hamlet utters this speech, it is clearly a soliloquy because Ophelia  gives no indication that she hears Hamlet speaking. The passage is further distinguished from an aside by its considerable length and importance in exposing Hamlet’s inner feelings. Macbeth’s Visionary Soliloquy In Act 2, Scene 1 of Macbeth, the perpetually moody Macbeth has a vision of a floating dagger tempting him to carry out his plan to kill Duncan, the King of Scotland, and take the throne himself. Fighting with a guilty conscience and now confused by this vision, Macbeth says: â€Å"Is this a dagger which I see before me,The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.Art thou not, fatal vision, sensibleTo feeling as to sight? or art though butA dagger of the mind, a false creation,Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? [...]† Only by having him speak through soliloquy in this famous scene is Shakespeare able to inform the audience—and not  the other characters—of Macbeth’s helter-skelter state of mind and secretly-held evil intentions.   Modern Examples of Soliloquy While Shakespeare was one of the first and by far the most prolific user of soliloquy, some modern playwrights have incorporated the device. With the rise of realism at the end of the 18th century, writers worried that soliloquies would sound artificial, since people rarely talk to themselves in front of other people. As a result, modern soliloquies tend to be shorter than Shakespeare’s. Tom in The Glass Menagerie In  Tennessee Williams  The Glass Menagerie, the play’s narrator and protagonist, Tom, relays his memories of his mother Amanda and sister Laura. In his opening soliloquy, Tom warns the audience not to believe everything they see the characters do on stage. â€Å"Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.† In the final scene, Tom finally admits the truth—that his own actions largely ruined his life. â€Å"I didnt go to the moon that night. I went much further—for time is the longest distance between two points. Not long after that I was fired for writing a poem on the lid of a shoe-box. I left Saint Louis. [...] I reach for a cigarette, I cross the street, I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, I speak to the nearest stranger—anything that can blow your candles out! For nowadays the world is lit by lightning! Blow out your candles, Laura—and so goodbye. . .† Through this soliloquy, Williams reveals to the audience Toms self-loathing and doubt over abandoning his family and home. Frank Underwood in House of Cards In the television series House of Cards, fictional 46th President of the United States and protagonist Frank Underwood often speaks directly to the camera after all other characters have left the scene. Through these pithy soliloquies, Frank reveals his thoughts on politics, power, and his own schemes and strategies. In a  memorable soliloquy in the first episode of season two, Frank reveals his overriding fear of developing personal relationships in the political realm. â€Å"Every kitten grows up to be a cat. They seem so harmless at first, small, quiet, lapping up their saucer of milk. But once their claws get long enough, they draw blood—sometimes, from the hand that feeds them.† Having just won an election in season two, Frank uses another soliloquy in an attempt to justify the often devious tactics of presidential politics. â€Å"The road to power is paved with hypocrisy. There will be casualties.† These soliloquies create dramatic tension by revealing Frank’s unbridled pride in his skill at manipulating others and his secret plots to use that skill. While the audience may be appalled at Frank’s schemes, they love being â€Å"in† on them.  Ã‚   Soliloquy Key Takeaways A soliloquy (suh-lil-uh-kwee) is a literary device used in drama to reveal a character’s thoughts, feelings, secrets or plans to the audience.Characters usually deliver  soliloquies while they are alone. If other characters are present, they are depicted as not having heard the soliloquy.  Writers use soliloquy to expose irony and create dramatic tension by letting the audience in on information that some characters do not know.