“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” means that what a thing is does not depend on what we call it, and it comes from Juliet’s plea that Romeo’s family name should not matter, though the line as most people quote it does not appear in any printing from Shakespeare’s lifetime.
A Rose by Any Other Name: The Full Passage
’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. O, be some other name
Belonging to a man.
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 called,
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.
Text based on the 1599 Quarto of Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene 2, with modernized spelling and punctuation. The more familiar “By any other name” comes from the 1597 printing, explained below.
At a Glance
Here are the key facts about “A rose by any other name” for quick reference.
What “A Rose by Any Other Name” Means
The whole passage in plain English, before the line-by-line detail.
Juliet has just discovered that the young man she fell in love with at her father’s party is Romeo, a Montague, from the family her own family hates. Standing at her window, thinking she is alone, she reasons her way through the problem.
Only his name is her enemy, she says, not Romeo himself. He would still be himself if he were not a Montague. And what is “Montague” anyway? It is not a hand or a foot, an arm or a face, or any part of a person at all. She wishes he had some other name.
Then comes the famous comparison. What does a name matter? The flower we call a rose would smell just as sweet if we called it by any other word. In the same way, Romeo would keep all his precious perfection if he were not called Romeo. So she asks him to take off his name like a hat, and in exchange for that name, which is no real part of him, to take all of her.
The saying now used in everyday speech keeps exactly this sense: calling something by a different name does not change what it really is.
A Rose by Any Other Name, Line by Line
Each line, with the sense of it in plain English.
Name or Word? The Line’s Two Versions
The most famous line about names exists in two versions, and the one everyone knows is a blend.
Romeo and Juliet was first printed in 1597, in a shorter version, and again in 1599, in a fuller one. The two differ in this passage. The 1597 printing has Juliet say that a rose “By any other name would smell as sweet.” The 1599 printing reads “By any other word,” and later printings followed it. Many modern editions, which are based on the 1599 text, print “word.”
The two printings differ in the lines around it too. The 1597 version describes Montague as “nor hand nor foot, / Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part,” while the 1599 version has “Nor arm nor face, O be some other name / Belonging to a man.” The passage many people learned in school combines the two, taking “nor any other part” from one printing, “O, be some other name” from the other, and “name” in the rose line from the first. No single printing from Shakespeare’s lifetime reads exactly that way; the blended version was put together by later editors.
Both versions make sense, and both say the same thing. But “name” has won in popular memory, perhaps because the word fits a speech that is all about names and repeats it again and again.
Where the Line Comes in Romeo and Juliet
The passage belongs to the most famous love scene in English.
Earlier that night, Romeo and Juliet met at the Capulet feast, fell in love, and only afterward learned each other’s names. Romeo has climbed into the Capulet orchard, and Juliet, at her window above, begins by asking “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”: why must he be Romeo, a Montague? The rose passage follows directly. Our guide to “Wherefore art thou Romeo” explains the opening of the speech in detail.
When she finishes, Romeo steps out of hiding and takes her at her word: “Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized.” For the whole story, see our full guide to Romeo and Juliet, and for the other plays, our guide to all of Shakespeare’s plays.
Themes
The three big ideas the passage turns on.
Names and What They Stand For
Juliet’s argument separates the label from the thing. A name is attached to something from outside; it is not part of it, the way a hand or a face is part of a body. Change the label and the thing stays the same.
Love Against Inherited Hatred
In Verona, a family name carries a feud no one can explain. Juliet’s speech is the first time anyone in the play questions the feud itself, and she does it with the simplest possible logic: the man is not the name. Our guide to the themes of Romeo and Juliet follows the idea through the play.
Giving Up Identity for Love
Juliet asks Romeo to give up his name, and offers herself in exchange: “for thy name, which is no part of thee, / Take all myself.” The trade is lopsided on purpose. She asks him for something she thinks is worthless and gives him everything she has.
Form and Language
How the passage is built, and why it works so well.
An Argument by Comparison
The passage is built like a small proof. First the general claim, “What’s in a name?”; then the example of the rose; then the application to Romeo: “So Romeo would.” Juliet is thinking aloud, but she thinks in steps, like a debater.
Why a Rose
The rose was the traditional flower of love and beauty, and its value lies in its scent, which no one can see or name. The example is exactly chosen: a quality you experience directly, which has nothing to do with the word attached to it.
A Name Like a Hat
“Doff” means to take off, as a hat is doffed. Juliet imagines a name as something worn on the outside, easy to remove. The image makes her argument feel simple, which is part of why it is so persuasive.
A Closer Reading: Undone by One Word
Juliet argues that a word is only a word, and the play later destroys her with a single one.
Her comparison has a flaw she cannot yet see. A rose’s name does nothing to the rose; no one hates a flower because of what it is called. But a person’s name is not like that. “Montague” comes with a father, a household, friends, and enemies. It decides who may marry whom, who will draw a sword, and who will die. In Verona, names act.
The play proves it within a day. Tybalt kills Mercutio and dies at Romeo’s hand, and the Prince banishes Romeo. When the Nurse brings the news, it is not a name but another single word that breaks Juliet: “That ‘banishèd,’ that one word ‘banishèd,’ / Hath slain ten thousand Tybalts.” The girl who asked “What’s in a name?” discovers that one word can hold her whole life. The rose line is true of roses. The rest of the play shows how little it is true of people, and that gap between what should matter and what does is the tragedy.
Common Questions
The questions readers ask most often about “A rose by any other name,” answered briefly.
What Does “A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet” Mean?
That the name of something does not change what it is. A rose would smell just as sweet if it were called something else, and Romeo would be just as lovable if he were not a Montague.
Is It “Any Other Name” or “Any Other Word”?
Both. The first printing of the play, in 1597, reads “name”; the fuller 1599 printing reads “word,” and many modern editions follow it. The familiar version uses “name.”
Who Says “A Rose by Any Other Name”?
Juliet, in Act 2, scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, speaking at her window about Romeo, who is listening unseen below.
What Does “What’s in a Name?” Mean?
“What does a name matter?” Juliet means that a name is only a label and does not decide what a person is. The question is now used whenever someone suggests that a label is less important than the reality behind it.
Is Juliet Right?
About roses, yes. About people in Verona, the play suggests not: Romeo’s family name leads to a street killing, his banishment, and finally the deaths of both lovers.
Related Reading
Three pages that take “A rose by any other name” further.