Fact of the Day

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?

One of the most famous quotes in English literature, this is also one of the most often misunderstood. The problem comes from the word wherefore. Many people assume that it means "where", and that Juliet thus wondering where Romeo is.

In fact, wherefore means "why". What Juliet is doing is crying out in frustration that her beloved is a member of the Montague family and thus her family's enemy. "Romeo, Romeo, why do you have to be a Montague?" would be a reasonable paraphrase.

Shakespeare is full of words that have fallen out of use (or worse, have meanings that have changed subtly) in the past 400 years. This is why any serious actor performing in one of Shakespeare's works will study the text using an annotated version of that play. A good annotated version will define words, idioms, sayings and the background information required to understand the play fully.

[This Fact of the Day has been brought to you by my busy schedule. Big Red Dave's Busy Schedule: sapping time away from blogging since 2005.]