The lady doth protest too much, methinks  

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-[[William Shakespeare|William Shakespeare's]] play ''[[Hamlet]]'' has contributed many phrases to common [[English (language)|English]], from the famous "[[To be, or not to be]]" to a few less known, but still in everyday English. +"'''The lady doth protest too much, methinks'''" is a [[quotation]] from the 1602 play ''[[Hamlet]]'' by [[William Shakespeare]]. It has been used as a figure of speech, in various phrasings, to indicate that a person's overly frequent or vehement attempts to convince others of something have ironically helped to convince others that the opposite is true, by making the person look insincere and defensive.
-Also, some occur elsewhere, such as [[the Bible]], or are [[proverb|proverbial]]. A few, listed out (''Note: all are [[second quarto]] except as noted''):+In [[rhetoric|rhetorical]] terms, the phrase can be thought of as indicating an unintentional [[apophasis]] - where the speaker who "protests too much" in favor of some assertion puts into others' minds the idea that the assertion is false, something that they may not have considered before.
-'''Act I, scene 1''':+==Original usage==
 +The line, like most of Shakespeare's works, is in [[iambic pentameter]]. The quotation is found in act III, scene II of ''Hamlet'', where it is spoken by [[Gertrude (Hamlet)|Queen Gertrude]], Hamlet's mother. Hamlet and his mother, along with others, have been watching a play within a play, that Hamlet wrote based on his guess as to the set of events that occurred before his mother married his uncle [[King Claudius|Claudius]]. In the play, the Player Queen, representing Gertrude, declares in flowery language that she will never remarry if her husband dies. Hamlet then turns to his mother and asks her, "Madam, how like you this play?", to which she replies "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Gertrude (who may or may not be aware that the queen in the play is a stand-in for her) is saying that the Player Queen is promising too much. Hamlet replies, "O, but she'll keep her word."
-:''As the mote is to trouble the mind's eye'' ("Mind's eye," though it did not originate as a phrase in this play, was popularized by Shakespeare's use of it.+==Later uses==
 +The quotation's meaning has changed somewhat since it was first written: whereas in modern parlance "protest" in this context often means a denial, in Shakespeare's time to "protest" meant to "vow" or "declare solemnly", and thus the phrase referred to a positive affirmation.
-'''Act I, scene 2''':+[[Andrew Klavan]] wrote an article for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' in 2006 headlined "[[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] Doth Protest Too Much." [[Alanis Morissette]] wrote a song titled "Doth I Protest Too Much" [sic] for her album ''[[So-Called Chaos]]''. In the [[David Ives]] play ''[[Venus In Fur]]'', Vanda proclaims, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much," as she pries for information regarding Thomas' defensiveness about his sexual past.
- +
-:''... all that lives must die,''+
-:''Passing through nature to eternity.''+
- +
- +
-:''Frailty, [[thy name is]] woman!'' +
- +
- +
-'''Act I, scene 3''':+
- +
-:''...the primrose path...''+
- +
- +
-:''Neither a borrower nor a lender be;''+
- +
- +
-:''This above all: to thine ownself be true,''+
- +
- +
-:''Giving more light than heat,...''+
- +
-'''Act I, scene 4''':+
- +
-:''And to the manner born, ...'' (i.e., predisposed to the practice. This phrase is sometimes mistakenly rendered as "to the ''manor'' born", and used to mean 'of the privileged class”; see references for more on this one. In recent years this misconception has spread through the popularity of the British sitcom ''[[To the Manor Born]]'', the title of which was a deliberate pun on Shakespeare's phrase.)+
- +
- +
-:''More honoured in the breach than the observance.'' (Another misunderstood phrase, in the context (the Danes' drinking customs) it signifies that the Danes gain more honour by neglecting their drunken customs than following them; however, it has come to be used in situations where it simply means that a custom is hardly ever followed.)+
- +
- +
-:''O, answer me!'' (Hamlet's anguished cry to his father's [[ghost]])+
- +
- +
-:''Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.''+
- +
- +
-'''Act I, scene 5''':+
- +
-:''Murder most foul, ...''+
- +
- +
-:''The time is out of joint ...''+
- +
- +
-:''There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,''+
-:''Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.'' +
- +
-'''Act II, scene 2''':+
- +
-:''...brevity is the soul of wit,''+
- +
- +
-:''Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't.''+
- +
- +
-:''There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.'' — (Note: this is a [[first folio]] passage)+
- +
- +
-:''[[What a piece of work is a man]]!+
- +
- +
-:''And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?''+
- +
- +
-:''...an old man is twice a child.''+
- +
- +
-:''... man delights not me''+
- +
- +
-:''O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!''+
- +
- +
-:''... and the devil hath power''+
-:''To assume a pleasing shape;''+
- +
- +
-:''...The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.''+
- +
- +
-'''Act III, scene 1''':+
- +
-:''[[To be, or not to be]]: that is the question ...'' +
- +
-::''...what dreams may come,'' (part of last, the [[What Dreams May Come (film)|title]] of a [[Robin Williams]] movie.)+
- +
-::''When we have shuffled off this [[mortal coil]],'' (another from [[To be, or not to be]])+
- +
- +
-:''Get thee to a nunnery'' (occurs several places in this scene)+
- +
- +
-:''O, woe is me,''+
- +
- +
-'''Act III, scene 2''':+
- +
-:''[[Speak the speech]] ...''+
- +
-:''Purpose is but the slave to memory,''+
- +
-:''[[The lady doth protest too much, methinks]].''+
- +
-'''Act III, Scene 4''':+
- +
-:''Hoist with his own [[petard]]'' (see external links for more on this one)+
- +
-'''Act IV, Scene 4''':+
- +
-:''How all occasions do inform against me,''+
- +
- +
-'''Act V, Scene 1''':+
- +
-:''Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio'' (the '''Horatio''' is often replaced with the word '''well''', a common [[List of famous misquotations|misquote]]; in the previous scene [[Laertes (character)|Laertes]] observes, ''"I know him well..."'')+
- +
- +
-:''Let Hercules himself do what he may,''+
-:''The cat will mew and dog will have his day.''+
-:''Will he nill he.''+
- +
-'''Act V, Scene 2:+
- +
-:''There's a divinity that shapes our ends,''+
-:''Rough-hew them how we will ...''+
- +
- +
-:''report me and my cause aright ... To tell my story.'' ([[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet's]] dying request to [[Horatio (character)|Horatio]])+
- +
- +
-:''... The rest is silence.'' (Hamlet's last words)+
- +
- +
-:''...so shall you hear''+
-:''Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,''+
-:''Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters,''+
-:''Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause,'' (Horatio's discussion of the play's blood-bath)+
==See also== ==See also==
-*[[Shakespeare's influence on the English language]]+* [[Reaction formation]]
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"The lady doth protest too much, methinks" is a quotation from the 1602 play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. It has been used as a figure of speech, in various phrasings, to indicate that a person's overly frequent or vehement attempts to convince others of something have ironically helped to convince others that the opposite is true, by making the person look insincere and defensive.

In rhetorical terms, the phrase can be thought of as indicating an unintentional apophasis - where the speaker who "protests too much" in favor of some assertion puts into others' minds the idea that the assertion is false, something that they may not have considered before.

[edit]

Original usage

The line, like most of Shakespeare's works, is in iambic pentameter. The quotation is found in act III, scene II of Hamlet, where it is spoken by Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. Hamlet and his mother, along with others, have been watching a play within a play, that Hamlet wrote based on his guess as to the set of events that occurred before his mother married his uncle Claudius. In the play, the Player Queen, representing Gertrude, declares in flowery language that she will never remarry if her husband dies. Hamlet then turns to his mother and asks her, "Madam, how like you this play?", to which she replies "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Gertrude (who may or may not be aware that the queen in the play is a stand-in for her) is saying that the Player Queen is promising too much. Hamlet replies, "O, but she'll keep her word."

[edit]

Later uses

The quotation's meaning has changed somewhat since it was first written: whereas in modern parlance "protest" in this context often means a denial, in Shakespeare's time to "protest" meant to "vow" or "declare solemnly", and thus the phrase referred to a positive affirmation.

Andrew Klavan wrote an article for the Los Angeles Times in 2006 headlined "Clinton Doth Protest Too Much." Alanis Morissette wrote a song titled "Doth I Protest Too Much" [sic] for her album So-Called Chaos. In the David Ives play Venus In Fur, Vanda proclaims, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much," as she pries for information regarding Thomas' defensiveness about his sexual past.

[edit]

See also


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