After reading the play it by year ear thread I thought this would be a good thread Idea, we post our favorite misquote and the person who gets it right or has ther own favorite posts as well.
I will start with the mistake I love to hate cuz it just keeps getting repeated in movies and television; over and over.
"
Romeo Romeo where for art thou Romeo?"
Anybody know the correct quote?
[quote=“why does it hurt when I p”]I will start with the mistake I love to hate cuz it just keeps getting repeated in movies and television; over and over.
"
Romeo Romeo where for art thou Romeo?"
Anybody know the correct quote?[/quote]
Well, unless you mean the spelling mistake (wherefore, instead of where for), the quote is accurate. There’s also an “O” in front 
Here’s the full quote:
[quote=“Billy 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]
Act 2, Scene 2.
What annoys me more about that quote isn’t the misquoting, it’s the misunderstanding of it. “Wherefore” does not bloody mean “where”!
Does anyone not still in high school really make that mistake? 
Unfortunately yes. People are idiots.
Romeo, Romeo why are you, Romeo? Makes no sense in today’s English either! Gimme Macbeth or Hamlet anyday.
A humoristic take on this one from the Gore election:
Wear your clothes four times before washing. There really is no such thing as an environmentally friendly detergent. So reducing the amount of wash we do can save water and help restore the environment. Why not do what the Gores do at home: wear clothes at least 4 times between washes (3 times for underwear and socks). Tipper thought of this neat reminder so you won’t forget, “Wear four art thou, Romeo?”
Lose the second comma and it makes perfect sense. :s
You guys are close but still have not got it, come on put those English Lit classes to work
Henry Ford: History is bunk.
Humphrey Bogart: Play it again, Sam.
Me: I love you.
Two are misquotes, one is a lie. I definitely never said that.
I am afraid I don’t know the so-called correct quote for Shakespeare’s infamous line, but I do have another one that I have heard mis-quoted.
“Like a sheep in this wool clothing…”
I first heard this in a song done by The Odds, and it wasn’t until a public sing-a-long did I realize that I was singing the wrong tune!
I know it’s easy, but I just wanna keep the bowl rolling 
“Elementary, my dear Watson” always annoys me, just because it’s not Doyle. I don’t care if some bozo said it in a film.
As for Romeo, what was wrong with Maoman’s quote?
You know, now I think about it, I don’t know why she’s so hung up on his first name, anyway (besides being hopelessly dweeby); I guess “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Montague?” just didn’t have that satisfying dramatic repetition to it…
(Yes, I realise that his entire name was bestowed by his family and hence a rejection of any part of it could be interpreted loosely as being symbolic of separating himself from his family, poetic license blah de Eng Lit blah… I’m just saying, OK?) 
[quote=“stragbasher”]Henry Ford: History is bunk.
Humphrey Bogart: Play it again, Sam.
Me: I love you.
Two are misquotes, one is a lie. I definitely never said that.[/quote]
Stragbasher you got the idea, I am not sure but I believe Boggie said one more time, not play it again sam, am I right?
Das got it close enough it is actually
whyfore art thou Romeo not where for art thou
. She is asking why does he have to be a Montague not where are you?
This is one of the most repeated mistakes in common use today.
nice work.
[quote=“why does it hurt when I p”]Das got it close enough it is actually
whyfore art thou Romeo not where for art thou
. She is asking why does he have to be a Montague not where are you?
This is one of the most repeated mistakes in common use today.
nice work.
[/quote]
Fei hua! (No shit, sherlock!) Yes, she is asking “why” not “where”, but she does not say “whyfore”, she says “wherefore”, which means “why”. Anybody who read [url=Old discussions about guarantors (Wherefore a Guarantor?) thread[/url] would have figured that out. 
Again, for the record: the correct quote is wherefore, not whyfore. :loco:
You are all wrong. It should “How come thou art Romeo?”
Not according to this: allshakespeare.com/quotes/1139
or this: geocities.com/Broadway/1796/Act2_sc2.htm
Ah so sorry maoman but it is whyfore just cuz you read it on the net does not make it so pull out a copy and check it.
The best English lit course I ever took had to do with the repetition of common error does not equal truth. The 4 month argument was basically centered around language and common use.
The course was entitled why-fore nor wherefore, if you need proof get the book and read it again not just a quick and dirty net search. Even though wherefore means why as you stated that is not what he wrote.
It is the power of media that has imprinted this mistake upon us all. After you get you well worn copy of Ol William out and have seen I am correct a pint of Guiness will suffice as proper apology for doubting the veracity of my words.
Shame on you
:s
I must admit the simple eloquence is undeniable. You have missed your calling, you should have been a poet.
I have and I did. It still says ‘wherefore’. I even checked the ‘internet transcription’ of Shakespeare’s First Quarto, Second Quarto and First Folio. Some of the spellings, such as ‘Mountague’ are different, but they all say ‘wherefore’.
ise.uvic.ca/Annex/DraftTxt/Rom/index.html
I was able to find dozens of quotes and full transcriptions of text that reference ‘wherefore’ and only a couple of isolated instances otherwise and never as part of a full transcription of the play. Suffice to say, I don’t believe you, unless you have some proof you’d like to produce. Or you’re just trying to get a rise out of pedants like me, in which case, well done 
I suspect the title of your course was a play on words, commonly known as a ‘pun’.
My copy of R&J back homw, which I’ve read numerous times, says “wherefore”. So did the copy of the complete works of Bill that I read, and the copies of R&J my high school used. To quote an infamous Nintendo game:
As a bonus, feel free to enjoy a piece of my finest art:
