Hamlet • Act 1, Scene 2 • Hamlet
“Let me not think on't--Frailty, thy name is woman!--” — Frailty, Thy Name Is Woman Meaning
Hamlet is exclaiming a bitter generalization: he labels 'frailty' as characteristic of woman after recalling his mother's rapid remarriage. The line expresses an emotional, accusatory reaction rooted in his grief and outrage, not a careful, neutral claim about all women; it functions as a passionate outburst in the moment.
Plain-English meaning
I mustn't think about it—Frailty, your name is woman!—
Who says it, and what is happening?
Speaker: Hamlet. Locally he speaks while railing about his mother's conduct: he remembers how she clung to his father at the funeral, then remarried within a month. The lines just before this exclamation call up images of her following the corpse 'Like Niobe' and of a swift change of affection. The moment matters because Hamlet vocalizes a sharp moral judgment—an angry, personal generalisation—that signals his deep grief and frustration and shapes his attitude toward his mother.
Language and literary analysis
The exclamation personifies 'Frailty' as a named quality and then addresses it directly—'thy name is woman'—a rhetorical move that turns personal pain into a sweeping accusation. The phrasing is abrupt: 'Let me not think on't' followed by the outburst suggests an attempt at self-control that collapses into projection. Nearby images—her following his father's body 'Like Niobe' and the 'little month' before shoes wore out—create a sharp contrast between visible mourning and swift remarriage, intensifying the charge. Shakespeare’s use of direct address, caesura, and vivid simile makes the line less a reasoned statement than an emotionally driven generalisation, showing how grief can morph into gendered condemnation.
How to use the quote in an essay
Use this line to argue that Hamlet’s response to Gertrude is primarily emotional: its apostrophic phrasing and abruptness show a personal outburst rather than a balanced claim about women. In an essay, link this moment to the preceding imagery of the funeral and rapid remarriage to demonstrate how personal grievance produces sweeping language.
Questions about this quote
Is Hamlet accusing all women or just his mother here?
Hamlet’s words read as an angry personal condemnation rooted in his mother’s actions, not a careful, universal claim about women. In context he reacts to Gertrude’s rapid remarriage and collapses grief into a sweeping phrase. The line functions as emotional projection rather than a reasoned argument about gender.
What does invoking Niobe nearby add?
The Niobe simile recalls Gertrude’s earlier visible sorrow—'follow'd my poor father's body, / Like Niobe, all tears'—and so heightens the sense of contradiction when Hamlet notes her quick remarriage. That contrast makes his charge of 'frailty' feel sharper and more personal: it emphasizes perceived inconsistency between mourning and subsequent behavior.
Read this line in the complete side-by-side scene. · Read the scene revision guide.
Original text source: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, MIT HTML edition. MIT states that its HTML versions of the plays are placed in the public domain.