The main message of this soliloquy is that Hamlet feels like a total lowlife for having done nothing so far to avenge his father's murder. Hamlet has just heard an actor recite a monologue about Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, and the actor appears to have shown more emotion—though he is only acting—than Hamlet has shown in his real life about his real tragedy. Hamlet marvels that this actor could produce real-seeming tears, yet Hamlet neither says nor does anything so emotional. He feels he is a coward because he has been charged with the responsibility of exacting revenge on his father's murderer, but he has done nothing. Finally, toward the end of the speech, Hamlet decides to ask the actors to put on a play that is similar to the way his father was murdered, and he will watch his uncle while his uncle watches this play with the hope that he will reveal his own guilt. This monologue addresses themes such as cowardice, revenge, and guilt.
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