Breaking Down the Bard - Wherefore

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"

You've heard this line a BAJILLION TIMES, but did you know that Juliet isn't looking for Romeo? That's because "wherefore" doesn't mean "where", it means "why"!

Juliet is wondering why the hottie that crashed her dad's party tonight had to be named Romeo Montague, because his family is the sworn enemy of her family, the Capulets. And girlfriend is SPRUNG. If his name was pretty much anything else, her parents might not object to the idea of them as a couple. But they would (if they knew), which leads to some really terrible decisions that drive the plot forward to its tragic end.

"Wherefore" is probably used by Shakespeare most notably in this line from Romeo & Juliet, but the word appears in every play attributed to Shakespeare except for two: Cymbeline and Measure for Measure! For example, Edmund in King Lear ("Why bastard? Wherefore base?") and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream ("O, wherefore, Nature, didst thou lions frame?") use our word of the day. See??? It's everywhere... and now you know what it means!

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