What did shakespeare mean by wert?

Answer 1

It is one of the verb forms which go along with the pronoun "thou", now found almost exclusively in devotional, patriotic and poetic works. It is the subjunctive of the verb "to be". In English (unlike most languages) the sense of marking the subjunctive by many speakers is diminished or even eliminated, but what it means is this: you are talking about a possibility, a fantasy, or some other kind of counter-factual. For example, Timon in Timon of Athens says, "If thou wert the lion, the fox would beguile thee; if thou wert the lamb, the fox would eat thee". The person he is speaking to is neither a lion nor a lamb, so he uses the subjunctive form "wert". Romeo says, " wert thou as far As that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea, I would adventure for such merchandise". Again, Juliet is right in front of him, so the supposition that she is a million miles away is a fantasy.

The simple past tense of to be which goes with thou is "wast", as in "Thou wast the prettiest babe that e'er I nursed".

When subjunctives are marked nowadays, it is by the use of the word "were" e.g. "If I were feeling better, I'd beat you for saying that." or "If she were a good housekeeper, her husband would be happier." Of course, all second person forms of the verb, past or subjunctive, singular or plural are "were". And there are no subjunctive forms of any other verbs--just "to be".