Aside Definition and meaning

Aside one the most important terms of english literature.  An Aside is a short passage spoken/in an undertone or directed to the audience in a theatre. An aside is different from a soliloquy. An aside is a speech made by a character privately to himself where others are present, while a soliloquy is a speech which a character makes to himself when he is all alone. When a character, alone on the stage, is speaking aloud, he is making a soliloquy. 

But an aside is presumed to be inaudible to other characters on the stage. A character in a drama often expresses his most secret thoughts and designs in a soliloquy. An aside is also an expression of a character's secret thoughts and feelings. Shakespeare uses both soliloquies and - asides in Macbeth. Macbeth’s asides after hearing the prophecies are in fact soliloquies that amply reveal the secret goings-on in his mind and expose his character.