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Hamlet Quote Analysis

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Out, out, thou strumpet Fortune!

Act II, Scene 2

Quote Type: DialogueDifficulty: ★★★Quotability: ★★★☆☆

Context

The Player's speech includes a curse against Fortune, personified as a prostitute who controls human fate.

Analysis

The epithet 'strumpet Fortune' merges misogyny and fatalism: Fortune is both powerful and contemptible, a female force that manipulates men. The gendering of chance as a deceitful woman reflects the play's tendency to project anxiety about control onto female figures.

Essay Tip

Use this to argue that the play's male characters displace their own failures onto women—by blaming Fortune (gendered female) for chaos, they avoid responsibility for their inability to act decisively.

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