# "So shines a good deed in a WEARY world"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 18, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-shines-a-good-deed-in-a-weary-world/322254 "2005-09-18T20:54:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-shines-a-good-deed-in-a-weary-world/322254/1 "2005-09-18T20:54:05Z")
The common version of the quote, featured in _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_, among others, seems to be “So shines a good deed in a weary world.” That’s the way I’ve usually heard it, and that’s the way I think most people repeat it. In _The Merchant of Venice_, Portia’s actual line is “So shines a good deed in a _naughty_ world.” When/why did the quote morph? Was it intentional (maybe to avoid the associations with the word “naughty”) or accidental (like Bogie’s _Maltese Falcon_ “we are such stuff as dreams are made of”)? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-shines-a-good-deed-in-a-weary-world/322254/2 "2005-09-18T21:02:34Z")
Well, I won’t lie; I googled it. > [@](#): > > When Quaker Oats (yes, the Quaker Oats company!) decided to adapt Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for film, Roald Dahl was asked to write the screenplay. Dahl produced a fairly literal translation of his book that was deemed unacceptable by the studio executives. The young writer and script doctor David Seltzer was then asked to “improve” Dahl’s script. The result was a recalibration of Dahl’s story with many significant changes (e.g. rival chocolatier Slugworth became a central character in the film as a tempter of the children, etc.) More importantly, Wonka was cast in a darker light, with an ambiguous stance toward the children (as opposed to the sprightly and somewhat avuncular candyman of Dahl’s conception.) > > In the finished script, Wonka’s dialogue is peppered with literary quotations and allusions not found in Dahl’s book. They were all introduced by David Seltzer as part of his rewrite of Dahl’s screenplay. It goes on to say that Setzer tweaked the line, probably to be less archaic and more reflective of Wonka’s character. [http://home.att.net/~tom.brodhead/wonka.htm](http://home.att.net/~tom.brodhead/wonka.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-shines-a-good-deed-in-a-weary-world/322254/3 "2005-09-19T00:30:50Z")
Huh! I guess it _is_ a Bogie-style misquote meme. Thanks!