SARAH: But look, Ralph — as soon as he's finally gotten angry enough to curse Claudius, he immediately second-guesses himself, calling himself an ass, or a fool.

RALPH: Yes, Sarah — and again, it's his bravery that he's calling into question — he ironically calls himself brave, saying that he has every reason to take action — "prompted to revenge by heaven and hell" — and yet all he can do is talk.

SARAH: This is one of the great ironies of Hamlet's character — we admire the beauty and the depth of Hamlet's soliloquies, and yet here Hamlet is saying that to do nothing more than make speeches is cowardly — what he needs to do is go and kill Claudius. Yet it's by these very speeches, which Hamlet sees as useless, that Hamlet "unpacks his heart", and in so doing, offers us such a stunning vision of the human experience.

RALPH: When Hamlet says that he can only curse like a prostitute or a kitchen maid, the comparison refers to both gender and class. Women, and especially women at the bottom of the social class system — servants and prostitutes — can only curse at the people who've wronged them — they have no other power at their disposal.

SARAH: Yet Hamlet is a young prince — as he well knows, there is no one else more capable of seeking justice and revenge against Claudius — therefore his lack of action is all the more shameful in his eyes.

RALPH: And finally, Hamlet exclaims "About, my brain!" — He's telling his brain to get going, to get to work, to think of the next step in his plans for revenge.