Wherefore means why
Juliet’s line is one of the most misread in English: “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2). She is not asking where Romeo is. He is standing below her balcony. She is asking why he has to be Romeo, a Montague, when that name makes him her family’s enemy.
Wherefore is simply “why.” It is built like “therefore”: both words mean “for this reason” or “for what reason.”
Place and time words
Several short words carry direction or timing, and they are easy to misread.
- Anon: right away, or “coming!” An answer such as “Anon, sir” means “right away,” not “later.”
- Hence, hither, thither: from here, to here, to there. Whence and whither are from where and to where.
- Ere: before. Oft: often. Betimes: early.
Words that look modern but are not
Some words are dangerous because they look familiar. Presently often meant “immediately,” and “by and by” meant “soon.” Nice could mean fussy or trivial, fond could mean foolish, and naughty meant worthless or wicked. A word like prevent could mean “come before.”
When a line sounds odd, try the older sense before assuming the writer was being clever.
Polite and rude forms of address
Prithee is “please” (from “I pray thee”). Sirrah addressed a man or boy of lower rank and could sound rude. Forsooth means “truly,” and methinks means “it seems to me.” These are easy to recognize once you have seen them a few times.
Where to check a word
Annotated editions explain unusual words in the margin. The Folger Shakespeare Library publishes the plays to read, search and download for free, which makes it easy to see a word in context. The translator on this site’s Shakespeare to Modern English page lists every word it changed, including notes for wherefore, anon and hence, so you can confirm each one against a good edition.
Sources and further reading
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