Are Bards strong enough/sturdy enough to solo in melee combat?

[Issar]

When I leveled my second bard, I went Melee mostly when soloing until 40. I would occasionally kite to push through hell levels a bit.

After that it was a lot of charming because I really began to enjoy the play style. When Mana got low I would either afk med or fear kite, mostly dots. The only downtime I had was when I wanted it.

For me, the biggest appeal to the bard is the diverse skillset, which allows for the most play styles of any class in the game by a long shot. If you look at it this way, you have four or five ways of soloing and only one that costs Mana. You also have the ability to cc, pull, tank and buff in groups. Good bards recognize what to do when the time calls for it in any group and you really won't ever be doing just one of these things, in most cases.