Final answer:
A speech where a character is alone and expresses thoughts aloud is a soliloquy, distinct from monologue and dialogue. Soliloquy allows audience direct insight into a character's inner thoughts, important in plays where dialogue and performance convey the story.
Step-by-step explanation:
A speech in which a character is alone on stage and expresses thoughts out loud is called a soliloquy. Unlike a dialogue, which involves conversation between two or more characters, or a monologue, which is a lengthy speech delivered by one character possibly in the presence of others, a soliloquy is a character's inner thoughts spoken out loud when no other characters are on stage. Monologue stems from the Greek words monos (single) and legein (to speak), while soliloquy comes from the Latin solus (alone) and loqui (to speak).
Plays are unique in that the audience learns about events, characters, and the story through what is said and performed on stage. While in novels an author can describe the inner workings of a character's mind, in plays like Shakespeare's Hamlet, characters often share their innermost thoughts through soliloquies, speaking directly to the audience. Hence the correct answer to the student's question is option a) Soliloquy.