- Thy name is
"______ thy name is ______" is a
catch phrase used to indicate the completeness of which something embodies a particular quality, usually a negative one.History
The origin of the term is generally agreed to come from the Shakespearean play "
Hamlet " (). In this work, the title character, is chastised by his uncle (and new stepfather), Claudius, for grieving his father so much, calling it unmanly. In the following soliloquy, Hamlet denounces his mother's swift remarriage, with the statement, "Frailty, thy name is woman." [(2006). [http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/frailty-thy-name-woman "Frailty, thy name is woman!"] ENotes.com (accessed October 13, 2006)] He thus equates womankind with the attribute of frailty. [Martin, Gary (2006). [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/142800.html "Frailty, thy name is woman"] Phrases.org.uk (accessed October 13, 2006)]Occasionally in modern times, the expression is rendered "thy name art," a kind of
archaism that intends to emphasize the style of English used in the 16th Century. However, this usage is incorrect; its equivalent in modern English would be "your name are."Examples
Quoted
*
Amos Bronson Alcott famously said ofWilliam Ellery Channing in 1871, "Whim, thy name is Channing." He was referring to Channing's Transcendentalist poetry style.Television
*In "The Simpsons" episode entitled "
Krusty Gets Busted ," in reference to the titular clown, Bart pronounces, "Comedy, thy name is Krusty."
*Episode 21 of the television show "Joan of Arcadia " is titled "Vanity, Thy Name is Human."
*Episode 3 Season 7 of the television showScrubs ,Dr Cox says toElliot Reid "Hypocrisy, thy name is you"
* Professor Farnsworth ofFuturama once proclaims "Vanity, thy name is Farnsworth!"Literature
*The poet
Anne Sexton has a poem called "Divorce, Thy Name Is Woman"
*Edmond Dantes in "The Count of Monte Cristo" pronounces the phrase after learning that his fiancee Mercedes has married his rival FernandNotes
External links
* [http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/frailtythyna.html "Frailty, thy name is woman"] , from "
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy "
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