Asides: Creating and Critiquing

Introduction to Asides

Asides or an “aside” is a theatrical or literary device where a character briefly steps out of the ongoing dialogue or action to address the audience or reveal private thoughts and emotions.

This technique allows for a deeper understanding of the character’s inner world, motivations, and conflicts, often contributing to dramatic irony and character development in plays, literature, and other narrative forms.

As a performative tool, asides serve to engage the audience in a unique manner, providing insights not readily available through regular dialogue or interaction among characters.

Literary Examples of Asides

Play	Character	Aside	Context
“A Streetcar Named Desire”	Blanche DuBois	“They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries…”	Blanche delivers this aside in the opening scene, reflecting on her journey and foreshadowing the play’s themes of desire and decay.
“Death of a Salesman”	Willy Loman	“It’s all right. I came back… I’m gonna win it for him both, Mother and Biff.”	Willy Loman’s aside reveals his inner thoughts and aspirations as he grapples with his perceptions of success and failure.
“The Glass Menagerie”	Tom Wingfield	“I’m going to the movies.”	Tom’s aside serves as a brief commentary on his desire for escapism and his yearning to escape his familial responsibilities.
“The Importance of Being Earnest”	Algernon Moncrieff	“Lane’s views on marriage seem somewhat lax. Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?”	Algernon’s aside is a humorous commentary on societal expectations and the contrast between appearances and reality.

How to Create an Aside

1. Character Development:
   • Understand your character’s motivations, emotions, and inner thoughts. What does your character want or need to express privately? What is the purpose of the asides in advancing the character’s development or the plot?
2. Select the Right Moment:
   • Identify a suitable moment within the scene where the asides would be most impactful. It should align with the character’s current situation, emotions, or interactions with others.
3. Compose the Asides:
   • Craft the aside as a concise and focused statement, usually just a few lines or sentences. Ensure that it conveys the character’s inner thoughts or emotions without disrupting the flow of the main dialogue.
4. Direct Address or Internal Thoughts:
   • Decide whether the aside will be directed at the audience or serve as an internal monologue. If directed at the audience, the character may break the fourth wall. If internal, the audience gains insight into the character’s thoughts without direct interaction.
5. Timing and Delivery:
   • Pay close attention to the timing and delivery of the asides. It should not interrupt the ongoing dialogue but should flow naturally within the scene. The character should deliver it in a way that communicates its intended meaning and emotion.

Benefits of Using Asides

1. Character Depth and Complexity:
   • Asides allow playwrights to delve into the inner thoughts and emotions of characters, providing a deeper understanding of their motivations, conflicts, and complexities. This contributes to well-rounded character development, fostering empathy and engagement with the audience.
2. Dramatic Irony:
   • Asides create opportunities for dramatic irony, a powerful storytelling device. By revealing information or intentions known only to the character delivering the aside, asides engage the audience in a unique way, generating tension and anticipation as they possess knowledge that other characters do not.
3. Enhanced Audience Engagement:
   • Asides engage the audience directly or through internal monologues, fostering a sense of intimacy and involvement. This engagement heightens the audience’s connection to the characters and the narrative, making for a more immersive theatrical experience.
4. Subtext and Subtlety:
   • Asides enable the exploration of subtext and subtlety within a play. They allow characters to convey hidden agendas, secrets, or suppressed emotions without overtly stating them. This adds layers of complexity to the dialogue and encourages critical thinking by the audience.
5. Versatility and Narrative Impact:
   • The strategic use of asides can serve various narrative purposes, such as providing exposition, foreshadowing events, adding humor, or intensifying conflict. This versatility makes asides valuable tools for playwrights to shape the overall impact and thematic depth of a play.

Aside and Literary Theory

Literary Theory	Approach to “Aside”	Critique of “Aside”
Formalism	Focuses on the structure and aesthetics of the text.	Formalists might analyze how the placement and language of the aside contribute to the play’s overall structure and artistic cohesion.
Feminism	Examines gender roles and power dynamics.	Feminist theorists may explore whether asides perpetuate gender stereotypes or challenge traditional gender norms in their content and context.
Marxism	Analyzes class struggles and economic disparities.	Marxists could investigate whether asides reflect or challenge class distinctions, economic inequality, or societal hierarchies within the play.
Psychoanalytic Theory	Explores characters’ psychological motivations.	Psychoanalytic critics may examine how asides reveal characters’ subconscious desires, fears, or inner conflicts, contributing to their psychological complexity.
Deconstructionism	Questions binary oppositions and meaning.	Deconstructionists might analyze how asides disrupt binary distinctions, blur boundaries, or create ambiguity, challenging conventional interpretations.
Postcolonialism	Addresses issues of imperialism and colonialism.	Postcolonial theorists could explore whether asides reflect colonial power dynamics, cultural clashes, or resistance to colonization in their subtext.

Suggested Readings

1. Chubbuck, Ivana. The Power of the Actor: The Chubbuck Technique. Penguin Books, 2004.
2. Catalano, Frank. The Art of the Monologue: Monologues They Haven’t Heard Yet. BookSurge, 2007.
3. Mackey, Carol Hanbery. Soliloquy in Nineteenth-Century Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, 1987.
4. Shengold, Nina. The Actor’s Book of Contemporary Stage Monologues: More Than 150 Monologues from More Than 70 Playwrights. Penguin Books, 1987.
5. Hasegawa, Yoko. Soliloquy in Japanese and English. John Benjamin Publishing Co. 2010.