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Speech: “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore

art thou Romeo?”
BY W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E

(from Romeo and Juliet, spoken by 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.
‘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 name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.

More About this Poem

MORE POEMS BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Song of the Witches: “Double, double toil and

trouble”
BY W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E

The Phoenix and the Turtle

BY W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E

Sonnet 15: When I consider everything that

grows
BY W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E

Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s

day?
BY W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E

Sonnet 19: Devouring Time, blunt thou the

lion's paws
BY W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E

See All Poems by this Author

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