In Act -III, Scene-II of the play, Queen Gertrude says, when speaking to her son, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” 205 Sport and repose lock from me day and night. The lady doth protest too much definition at Dictionary.com, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Get all the details, meaning, context, and even a pretentious factor for good measure. An accused, may loudly, and vigorously ridicule the accusation, but is, in reality, guilty as charged. Origin of The Lady Doth Protest Too Much. You'll usually hear it misquoted as, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." It is an indicator of hypocrisy, something like virtue signalling, only stronger. Methinks the lady doth protest too much. The archaic-sounding verb methinks, meaning it seems to me, is likely to continue appearing in English as long as we keep reading Shakespeare, who, in Hamlet, immortalized the word with the line, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Today, the word is often used in reference to the Shakespeare play, often with other language from that line—for example: An anchor’s cheer in prison be my scope. Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother says this popular phrase when watching the play, The Mousetrap, staged within William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.In Act -III, Scene-II of the play, Queen Gertrude says, when speaking to her son, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Find out why Close "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." "Methinks thou dost protest too much" Gertrude says that Player Queen affirms so much as to lose credibility. But Queen Gertrude's line is actually, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Many people continue to use this "Methinks thou dost protest too much" quote by William Shakespeare in famous quotes about life. It's no wonder that expressions from his works in literature, including the "Methinks thou dost protest too much" quote, are an 'anonymous' part of the English language. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" is a quotation from the 1599/ 1600 play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. The line actually reads, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." The line is spoken by Queen Gertrude in Act 3, Scene 2 of the classic play by William Shakespeare. To desperation turn my trust and hope. It has been used as a figure of speech, in various phrasings, to describe someone's too frequent and vehement attempts to convince others of some matter of which the opposite is true, thereby by making themselves appear defensive, and insincere. Origin of The Lady Doth Protest Too Much.Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother says this popular phrase when watching the play, The Mousetrap, staged within William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Get YouTube without the ads. The first one does roll of the tongue a bit more, we have to admit, but only because you've heard it said incorrectly so many darn times. What Shakespeare Play Has the Line, "Methinks Thou Dost Protest Too Much"? The principal meaning of "protest" in Shakespeare's day was "vow" or "declare solemnly," a meaning preserved in our use of "protestation." Look it up now! When we smugly declare that "the lady doth protest too much," we almost always mean that the lady objects so much as to lose credibility. Skip trial 1 month free. Parental Alienation Syndrome Awareness. 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. Nor earth to me give food, nor heaven light.