Three carved theatrical masks in black, charcoal and pale grey show different degrees of frowning against slate.

Original artwork, not a still

Hamlet • 1602

William Shakespeare

Frailty, thy name is woman!

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker personifies frailty as woman. The exclamation makes a sweeping association between weakness and women; it expresses a gendered judgment rather than an established fact.

Context reviewed

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