Here is the line-by-line paraphrase of Juliet’s monologue:

Original: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Modern: Oh Romeo, Romeo! Why do you have to be a Romeo?

Original: Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Modern: Reject your father and give up your family name;

Original: Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
Modern: Or, if you won’t do that, just promise to be my love,

Original: And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
Modern: And I’ll stop being a Capulet.

Original: ‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Modern: It’s only your name that’s my enemy;

Original: Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
Modern: You’re still yourself, even if you weren’t a Montague.

Original: What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Modern: What is “Montague”? It’s not a hand or a foot,

Original: Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Modern: Not an arm or a face or any other part

Original: Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
Modern: That belongs to a person. Oh, have some other name!

Original: What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
Modern: What’s so important about a name? The flower we call a rose

Original: By any other name would smell as sweet;
Modern: Would smell just as sweet if we called it something else;

Original: So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Modern: So Romeo would still be perfect, even if he wasn’t called Romeo,

Original: Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Modern: He would keep all that precious perfection he has

Original: Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
Modern: Without that family name. Romeo, throw away your name,

Original: And for that name which is no part of thee
Modern: And in exchange for that name which isn’t really part of you

Original: Take all myself.
Modern: Take all of me.

In Act II, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo enters the Capulet orchard after the feast, having climbed over the garden wall to escape his friends Benvolio and Mercutio. He hides beneath Juliet’s window and watches as she appears on her balcony above, unaware of his presence. Juliet speaks aloud to herself about Romeo, lamenting that he is a Montague and therefore her family’s enemy. She famously questions why names should matter, asking “What’s in a name?” and declaring that Romeo would still be perfect even if he were called something else. Romeo reveals himself and startles Juliet, who is concerned about the danger he faces by being in her family’s garden.

The two young lovers engage in an intimate conversation about their newfound love, with Juliet initially worried about Romeo’s safety and the impropriety of their meeting. Romeo swears his love by the moon, but Juliet asks him not to swear by something so changeable. They exchange vows of love, and Juliet proposes that if Romeo’s intentions are honorable and he wishes to marry her, he should send word to her the next day through a messenger she will dispatch. The Nurse calls for Juliet from inside, interrupting their conversation multiple times. Before parting, they arrange the details of their communication, and Juliet reluctantly bids Romeo farewell, comparing their parting to the sweet sorrow felt by a young girl releasing her pet bird only to pull it back again.

“Romeo and Juliet” tells the story of two young lovers from feuding families in Verona. Romeo Montague attends a Capulet feast in disguise, where he meets and instantly falls in love with Juliet Capulet. They meet secretly that night on her balcony and decide to marry the next day. Friar Lawrence agrees to perform the ceremony, hoping their union might end the family feud.

After the secret wedding, Romeo encounters Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, who challenges him to a duel. When Romeo refuses to fight, his friend Mercutio accepts the challenge and is killed by Tybalt. In revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished from Verona by Prince Escalus. Meanwhile, Juliet’s parents, unaware of her secret marriage, arrange for her to wed Count Paris.

Desperate to avoid this second marriage, Juliet seeks help from Friar Lawrence, who gives her a potion that will make her appear dead. The plan is for Romeo to return and take her away when she awakens in the Capulet tomb. However, Romeo never receives the friar’s message explaining the scheme. Believing Juliet truly dead, he purchases poison and drinks it beside her tomb.

Juliet awakens to find Romeo’s lifeless body and, in despair, kills herself with his dagger. The tragic deaths of their children finally reconcile the Montague and Capulet families, who vow to end their ancient hatred. Prince Escalus concludes that all are punished by this sorrowful outcome of the families’ bitter feud.