Shakespeare Quotes Everyone Gets Wrong
Popular Shakespeare quotes everyone gets wrong
William Shakespeare’s plays are highly quotable, but there are some Shakespeare quotes everyone gets wrong. To be fair, he did write many plays, and they aren’t short. (The man loved his five-act structure.) And while a couple of these idiomatic alterations are rather minor, most of them are downright egregious. In fact, there are even times when the popular quote completely contradicts the meaning of the source material. If you’re going to quote the Bard, you may as well quote him correctly. We’re ready to set the record straight in this gallery of popular Shakespeare quotations no one can seem to get right.Now Is The Winter
“Now is the winter of our discontent” has grown into a very popular turn of phrase. It comes from the Shakespeare play “Richard III” and it suggests that something about the current situation is such a bummer, it’s basically winter.
Maladjusts and other brooding types might take to this interpretation. But the a deeper reading favors another, brighter meaning.
Made Glorious Summer
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The fact is that this phrase has been stumbling through modern usage with only half its legs. The full phrase goes, “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York.” It’s intended, then, as a celebration, for York’s appearance has turned winter into summer.
Remind your local loner the next time they try to shortchange this key quote.
“Romeo, Romeo…
“Romeo & Juliet” remains one of the most enduring tragic love stories. After their first chance meeting at a party at House Capulet, Juliet takes to the balcony to ponder the fact that she’s fallen for her enemy.
Of course, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” sure sounds like she’s asking where her boytoy is located.
But its actual meaning is slightly different…
…Wherefore art thou Romeo?”
You see, the “wherefore” in the phrase “wherefore art thou Romeo” actually has meaning closer to “why” rather than “where.” Juliet is asking why Romeo must be named Romeo, a Montegue, and her family’s sworn enemy.
The context of the scene furthers the suggestion, having Juliet then contemplate a rose, which would smell as sweet by any other name, to paraphrase.
Thus, even though Romeo is secretly close by, and it seems like Juliet’s asking where he is, she’s actually asking something totally different.