A Play Within a Play, Methinks

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

From the Second Quarto edition of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act III, Scene II, spoken by Queen Gertrude in response to Prince Hamlet’s probing question:

“Madam, how like you this play?”

For the context (within the scene), read here. Or, for Mel Gibson’s performance of the later part of Scene II, watch here.

Better yet, just watch the whole play, and wonder at the play-within-the-play.

Methinks, it could be just a play without a day.

“To be or not to be, that is the question.”