Who says O Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo Deny thy father and refuse thy name or if thou wilt not be but sworn my love and Ill no longer be a?

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?

What's the meaning of the phrase 'O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo'?

The literal meaning of 'O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?' would appear to be 'Where are you Romeo?'. In fact, using the meaning of wherefore that would have been commonplace in Shakespeare's day, the playright suggested the meaning of 'For what reason are you Romeo?'.

What's the origin of the phrase 'O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo'?

This is one of Shakespeare's best known lines - from, of course, Romeo and Juliet, 1592.

Who says O Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo Deny thy father and refuse thy name or if thou wilt not be but sworn my love and Ill no longer be a?
The 'wherefore' here means why rather than where. Juliet makes her speech from the balcony while Romeo stands unseen in the shadows beneath.

What Juliet is asking, in allusion to the feud between her Capulet family and Romeo's Montague clan, is 'Romeo, why are you a Montague?'. Their love is impossible because of their family names and she asks him to change his allegiance, or else she will change hers.

JULIET:
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

Who says O Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo Deny thy father and refuse thy name or if thou wilt not be but sworn my love and Ill no longer be a?
See other phrases and sayings from Shakespeare.

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name, or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet.

Quote Analysis

We hear these words at the beginning of the scene on the balcony in Act 2 Scene 2, when Romeo still didn’t reveal himself. Juliet laments the rivalry between their families and is ready to deny her family name and all the previous life if only Romeo does the same, so they can be together.

This soliloquy gives Romeo the courage to step out of the garden and talk to his beloved. He expresses his devotion in equally passionate words. He and Juliet persuade each other that they love not the name or the status, but each other as persons. The comparisons and metaphors used in their conversation are overly romantic and sweet - perfectly expressing the innocence and passion of the teenager love, even when they both are in danger because of the family feud.

This words of Juliet also foreshadow the future events in a way. Romeo indeed will have to flee Verona because of the accusations of Juliet’s family. He stays the same Romeo but has to conceal his identity. Juliet also ceases to be a Capulet by becoming Romeo’s wife and technically belonging to Montague family.

Juliet

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name;

Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,

And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

Romeo

[Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?

Juliet

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,                    

Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part

Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!

What's in a name? That which we call a rose,

By any other word would smell as sweet.

So Romeo would — were he not Romeo called —

Retain that dear perfection which he owes

Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,

And for that name, which is no part of thee,

Romeo

                          [Aloud] I take thee at thy word.

Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized;                    

Henceforth I never will be Romeo.

Juliet

What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night,

So stumblest on my counsel?

Romeo

I know not how to tell thee who I am.

My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,

Because it is an enemy to thee.

Had I it written, I would tear the word.

Juliet

My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words

Of that tongue's uttering, yet I know the sound.

Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?                           

Romeo

Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike.

Juliet

How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?

The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,

And the place death, considering who thou art,

If any of my kinsmen find thee here.

Romeo

With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls,

For stony limits cannot hold love out;

And what love can do, that dares love attempt.

Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me.

Juliet

If they do see thee, they will murder thee.                     

Romeo

Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye

Than twenty of their swords. Look thou but sweet,

And I am proof against their enmity.

Juliet

I would not for the world they saw thee here.

Romeo

I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes,

And but thou love me, let them find me here.

My life were better ended by their hate,

Than death proroguèd, wanting of thy love.

Who says O Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo and why is it important?

Juliet isn't asking where Romeo is—she's asking why he's Romeo. Because of the base word where, modern ears often interpret this line as asking the question: “Where are you, Romeo?” In fact, it's asking, “Why are you Romeo?” The following line gives us a clue: Deny thy father and refuse thy name.

Who says O Romeo O Romeo?

Let's start with two correctives to common misconceptions about Romeo and Juliet. First of all, when Juliet asks her star-cross'd lover, 'O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

What act is O Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo Deny thy father and refuse thy name?

Origin of Wherefore Art Thou Romeo (Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II, Lines 33–36). It implies Juliet's fear that their love would eventually end in failure, as Romeo is a Montague, and she a Capulet (two tribes terribly hostile to each other).

What does Juliet mean when she says Deny thy father and refuse thy name?

Still unaware of Romeo's presence, she asks him to deny his family for her love. She adds, however, that if he will not, she will deny her family in order to be with him if he merely tells her that he loves her.