SARAH: Oh dear, Hamlet's certainly having difficulties. Hamlet's first soliloquy began with a wish — a wish for self-destruction — and this one begins with insults and self-accusation.

RALPH: That's right, Sarah — and he's accusing himself of being lazy. A rogue was a vagabond, someone who travels around instead of working a regular job, and therefore someone idle and lazy. And when Hamlet calls himself a slave, he means that he's not taking any initiative, like a free person can and should. And then the word peasant is just adding to the abuse -it means low or villainous.

SARAH: When Hamlet describes the player's acting as "monstrous", he's describing in part the actor's impressive ability to utterly transform himself. But what is truly monstrous is the comparison to Hamlet himself — the actor is so enormously capable, and in comparison, Hamlet has accomplished nothing at all.

RALPH: And the comparison is fair on some level, Sarah, if we keep in mind that what Hamlet's been doing is just like acting — he's been pretending to be crazy.