How can you explain what Juliet says about names in one or two sentences?

Answer 1

She says "that which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet" "What's in a name? A rose by anyother name would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, if not Romeo called." She means that names don't matter and that if to be a Capulet is to hate Romeo she doesn't want to be one.

Answer 2

Juliet says that names don't matter because they don't tell the personality of a person. For example she says that it doesn't matter that Romeo is called a Montague because this name does not mean anything or show anything about Romeo. She also questions why do we call things by specific names when they don;t mean anything.

Answer 3

Aloud Juliet speaks to herself and says, "Tis but thy name that is my enemy, thou art thyself though, not a Montegue. What's a Montegue? Is it nor hand nor foot nor arm nor face nor any other part belonging to a man. Oh 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 called. Retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title? Romeo doth thy name. And for that name which is no part of thee take all myself." Basically she is saying that a name shouldn't be who you are. A simple name shouldn't drive her and her love apart. Metaphorically she refers to a rose, a rose could be called anything, but it would still smell the same. So If Romeo were not a Montegue, he would still be Romeo.

Answer 4

The right answer: Juliet says that names do not define who you are. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." She loves Romeo, no matter what his name is. If he could just change his name, he'd still be himself, and they wouldn't have any issues with the parents. Juliet doesn't care whether or not she is a Capulet or Romeo is a Montague. She'd happily change her own name: "or if thou wilt not, be but my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

The wrong answer: Juliet says names define people and who they are she wants to be a Capulet but she is not sure how Romeo feels about it.

Answer 5

In Act II Scene 2, Juliet says:

"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."

and

"'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 word 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 thy name, which is no part of thee,

Take all myself.

This means that she knows she is not supposed to love him because of his name, but names mean nothing. She is not in love with his name, but with his person. If he were to have a different name, she would be allowed to love him.

Answer 6

Well, Juliet discovers the unsettling fact that Romeo is a Montague, a family that is the bitter enemy of her own - the Capulets. She is dismayed that something as simple as a name could render the person she loves an enemy. She goes on to comment on how ridiculous something as trivial as a label could have such devastating implications. She is saying, basically, that it is not Romeo the person that is her family's nemesis, but just the name attached to him. Just as with a rose (if a rose were, say, called the manure flower, it would smell the same), if Romeo were called anything else (like Ferdinand Smith or Dave Fitzsimmons) he would still be the same entity, but not an enemy to the Capulets.

Answer 7

Juliet means that she doesn't think she should hate Romeo because of his family's feud with her parents.

Answer 8

When she is talking about names, she is really saying "why does Romeo's last name have to be Montague?" because she is not supposed to love a Montague, but she does.

Answer 9

He said that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Or rather, he wrote a play in which a character called Juliet says it.