Shakespeare Electronic Conference, SHK 8.0122.  Friday, 24 January 1997.

From:           Diana E. Smith <
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Date:           Friday, 24 Jan 1997 07:20:18 -0500
Subject:        A Very Drab

I wonder if someone could help me with Hamlet's lines "Prompted to my revenge
by heaven and hell,/Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words/And fall
a-cursing like a very drab,"

Why the comparison to a whore exactly? How is his "unpacking" similar to a
whore's? Are we supposed to consider the comparative "rightness" of their acts?
Please help.

Diana Smith