OK,we all know the line from Shakespeare
"Romeo,Romeo,wherefore art thou Romeo?"
but does anyone actually know what it means translated into modern-day English?Send me a private message with your answer.

Wherefor private?

Not sent privately:

I consider it to be "Of all the names you could have, why does it have to be Romeo!"

(I always did like the name Mercutio, but I've not the guts to try it on my children; I might give Lysander a try, though).

... that "Vixy" not be taken at face value.

Why not, AnnaS?..don't you believe in super-precocious 11 year olds? Remember Mozart! Welcome to the Board, Vixy, if you really are who you say you are! Or could this be another incarnation of the Great Mav-Arch, with a bio to go with it, yet?

No, I *really think you are off target, here, guys! Check out Vicki's website, then answer her question with more respect [salute]

It appears that nobody on the board so far is any better at understanding Shakespeare than vixy is.I haven't seen the text for sixty years. I wonder if she was expressing unhappiness that one was a Montague, and the other a Capulet.

Dear Vixy: Have I got a site for you. (yours was nice.) I found a place where Romeo and Juliet is analzyed and explained for students. Turns out I was right about what Juliet's speech meant. So, here is URL to the site where you can learn more if you wish, with some pertinent parts of the analysis.

http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/romeoandjuliet/act2.html



In the fifth scene the lover's share a sonnet which uses imagery of saints and
pilgrims. This relates to the fact that Romeo means Pilgrim in Italian. It is also
a sacriligeous sonnet, for Juliet becomes a saint to be kissed and Romeo a
holy traveler.

One of the remarkable aspects of the play is the transformation of both
Romeo and Juliet after they fall in love. Juliet first comes across as a young,
innocent girl who obeys her parents commands. However, by the last scene
she is devious and highly focused. Thus, she asks her nurse about three
separate men at the party, saving Romeo for last so as not to arouse
suspicion. Romeo will undergo a similar transformation in the second act,
resulting in Mercutio commenting that he has become sociable.

Romeo has meanwhile succeeded in hiding beneath Juliet's balcony. She
appears on her balcony and, in this famous scene, asks, "Oh Romeo, Romeo,
wherefore art thou Romeo?" (2.1.75). She wishes that Romeo's name did not
make him her enemy. Romeo, hiding below her, surprises her by interupting
and telling Juliet that he loves her.

Yes, Vicki, I am sure the other guys have parsed this correctly. She is saying (in literal translation to modern idiom) "Why, of all things, did you have to be Romeo..." [and therefore a Montague and my family enemy]...

This is, after all, the speech that goes on to examine "What's in a name? That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet [.../...]Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?"

So she is trying to disentangle her attraction to this boy from the family antagonism and conflict his name represents.

But did you know all this anyway, and were just teasing us?

yeah,I did know.I was just seeing if anyone else knew.and you're all right,she was lamenting the fact that he was a Montague.hey,thanx about the site.....im a novice but anyways.I'll check out that site!!!!!and by the way,I dont know all that much about Shakespeare.I get most of it from my friend.she really knows Shakespeare.....im into Einstein more.No,really!!!!!

.....and as for AnnaStrophic.....I'd like to be friends,but if not.....?what can I do about it?im used to being rejected.being in a gifted class,me and m'mates are the village group of idiots.technically speaking.even with the teachers.....SO glad im out of that school now.....

Dear Vixy: AnnaStrophic was remembering some of the guys playing jokes. They played one on me, pretending to be a newcomer, and tricked me into protesting when they were rude to the supposed newcomer. So AnnaStrophic thought possibly it was another joke. I had fun looking up that Shakespeare site for students. Hope you found something interesting in it.So ask us some more questions.

aw,tanx.ok.lets see.....kesstions.....hmmmmm.....

I cant remember any more questions like that,but i could do lateral/logical thinking stuff?

waitasec:heres another word related one:do any of you(and I do,not to brag)know the meaning of the word:
antidisestablishmentarianism
?????reply here or send a message,Vic

m'mates

Hmmm...does this sound suspiciously like a Brit affectation in a self-proclaimed Canadian to anyone else? Now I'm a-wonderin' again...mates!

Dear Vixy,
I sincerely hope you are a very gifted young lady who, as such, would be a treasure and an asset to have around here! So please don't take any of this jovial banter personally...a thousand welcomes! However, as Dr. Bill says, we have been suckered-in to phantom arrivals before, so that's why we joke about it!
and if this is some gargantuan hoax, whoever came up with it has waaaaaaayyyyy too much time on their hands!
"Mav-Arch, Mav-Arch, O wherefore art thou, Mav-Arch?"

*sigh*i can only wish i were a Brit.....

Boardmembers, I have just toured "Vixy's" Beatles website and it seems to be a spoof or bogus site contrived through a company called CitySlide that specializes in "60 Second" Websites by offering a series of clicks for you to pick generic selections "teensite,"/"fansite", etc....and, presto! If you look through all the messages and guestbook, and ridiculous photo entries, they're all something out of a Mad Magazine parody! And there is one HUGE CLUE! A messageboard poster called "Alien" has a post up called FACES, and it is a pictorial spoof of.....EMOTICONS!!! WHO HATES EMOTICONS MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE ON THIS BOARD,......
M...................A.....................V.....................E......................R.................I...................C.....................K?!!!!!

I'm afraid he got'cha again, Dr. Bill! ........Mav-Arch, I rest my case!