The lady doth protest too much, methinks
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks" is a line from the play
The phrase is used in everyday speech to indicate doubt of someone's sincerity, especially regarding the truth of a strong denial.
In Hamlet
The line is in
Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius, and others watch the play-within-the-play, as the Player Queen declares in flowery language that she will never remarry if her husband dies.[1] Hamlet then turns to his mother and asks her, "Madam, how like you this play?" She replies, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks", meaning that the Player Queen's protestations of love and fidelity are too excessive to be believed.[1][2]
The quotation comes from the
Everyday usage
The line is commonly used to imply that someone who denies something very strongly is hiding the truth of it;[2] however, in the play, "protest" has the older meaning of "insist (that something is true), vow" – affirming her fidelity – rather than denying infidelity.[5] The line's allusion to Gertrude's (lack of) fidelity to her husband has become a cliché of sexually fickle womanhood.[6] It is a shorthand expression conveying doubt in any person's truthfulness, even when the subject is male.[7] It is sometimes altered to "the laddie doth protest too much".[8][non-primary source needed] The phrase is often shortened to "[X] protests too much".[9] A common misquotation places methinks first: "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."[2][10]
See also
References
- ^ S2CID 219640299.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-956746-1.
- ISBN 978-0-415-96445-6.
- ISBN 978-1-44-384386-7.
- ISBN 0-5171-8935-6.
- ISBN 0-52-160705-1.
- ISBN 0-38-572214-1.
- ^ Kaplan, Marty (28 March 2017). "Blamer-In-Chief: The Art Of The Dodge". HuffPost. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-14-102516-2.
- ISBN 978-0-19-049148-2.