The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (1059 page)

Let us sit down and mark their yellowing noise;

And- after conflict such as was suppos'd

The wand'ring prince and Dido once enjoyed,

When with a happy storm they were surpris'd,

And curtain'd with a counsel-keeping cave-

We may, each wreathed in the other's arms,

Our pastimes done, possess a golden slumber,

Whiles hounds and horns and sweet melodious birds

Be unto us as is a nurse's song

Of lullaby to bring her babe asleep.

My lovelyAaron, why do you look sad

when everything around is so happy?

The birds are singing on every bush,

the snakes lie coiled up in the warming sun,

the green leaves rustle in the cool breeze

and make a dappled shadow on the ground.

Let's sit under their sweet shade, Aaron,

and while the warbling echo copies the hounds,

replying shrilly to be well tuned horns

as if two hunts were going on at the same time,

let's sit down and listen to their racket;

and after we've enjoyed such a bout together

as Aeneas and Dido were supposed to have once enjoyed,

when they were caught out by a fortuitous storm

which kept them hidden in a secret cave,

we may, wrapped in each other's arms,

our fun over, have a delicious sleep,

while the hounds and horns and sweet singing birds

will be like the song of a nurse to us,

a lullaby to get her baby to sleep.

AARON.

Madam, though Venus govern your desires,

Saturn is dominator over mine.

What signifies my deadly-standing eye,

My silence and my cloudy melancholy,

My fleece of woolly hair that now uncurls

Even as an adder when she doth unroll

To do some fatal execution?

No, madam, these are no venereal signs.

Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand,

Blood and revenge are hammering in my head.

Hark, Tamora, the empress of my soul,

Which never hopes more heaven than rests in thee-

This is the day of doom for Bassianus;

His Philomel must lose her tongue to-day,

Thy sons make pillage of her chastity,

And wash their hands in Bassianus' blood.

Seest thou this letter? Take it up, I pray thee,

And give the King this fatal-plotted scroll.

Now question me no more; we are espied.

Here comes a parcel of our hopeful booty,

Which dreads not yet their lives' destruction.

Madam, although your desires are ruled by Venus,

Saturn is ruling over mine.

What does my deathdealing eye signify,

my silence and my dark brooding,

my fleece of woolly hair that now uncurls

like an adder when she uncoils herself

to make a fatal attack?

No, madam, these are not signs of love;

I have vengeance in my heart, my hand is ready to kill,

blood and revenge are pounding in my head.

Listen, Tamora, the Empress of my soul,

which never hopes to find anything better than you,

this must be Bassianus' last day,

Lavinia must have her tongue cut out today,

your sons must rape her

and wash their hands in his blood.

Do you see this letter? Take it, please,

and give the King this scroll, which plots death.

Ask me no more questions: we have been spotted.

Here come our intended victims,

who are not yet in fear of their lives.

Enter BASSIANUS and LAVINIA

TAMORA. Ah, my sweet Moor, sweeter to me than life!

Oh, my sweet Moor, you are sweeter to me than life itself!

AARON.

No more, great Empress: Bassianus comes.

Be cross with him; and I'll go fetch thy sons

To back thy quarrels, whatsoe'er they be.

Exit

No more, great Empress: Bassianus is coming.

Be quarrelsome with him; and I'll go and bring your sons

to back you up in your arguments, whatever they are.

BASSIANUS.

Who have we here? Rome's royal Emperess,

Unfurnish'd of her well-beseeming troop?

Or is it Dian, habited like her,

Who hath abandoned her holy groves

To see the general hunting in this forest?

Who've we got here? The royal Empress of Rome,

without her suitable bodyguard?

Or is it Diana, dressed like her,

who has left her holy woods

to see everybody hunting in this forest?

TAMORA.

Saucy controller of my private steps!

Had I the pow'r that some say Dian had,

Thy temples should be planted presently

With horns, as was Actaeon's; and the hounds

Should drive upon thy new-transformed limbs,

Unmannerly intruder as thou art!

Insolentsteward of my private affairs!

If I had the power that some say Diana had

you would shortly have horns on your

forehead, like Actaeon had; and the hounds

would attack your newly changed body,

ill mannered intruder that you are!

LAVINIA.

Under your patience, gentle Emperess,

'Tis thought you have a goodly gift in horning,

And to be doubted that your Moor and you

Are singled forth to try thy experiments.

Jove shield your husband from his hounds to-day!

'Tis pity they should take him for a stag.

 If you'll excuse me, gentle Empress,

it's thought that you are good at putting the horns on people,

and I suspect that your Moor and you

have sneaked off to experiment in the matter.

May Jove protect your husband from his dogs today!

It would be a shame if they mistook him for a stag.

BASSIANUS.

Believe me, Queen, your swarth Cimmerian

Doth make your honour of his body's hue,

Spotted, detested, and abominable.

Why are you sequest'red from all your train,

Dismounted from your snow-white goodly steed,

And wand'red hither to an obscure plot,

Accompanied but with a barbarous Moor,

If foul desire had not conducted you?

Believe me, Queen, your dark friend

makes your honour the same colour as his body,

stained, hated and revolting.

Why are you separated from all your entourage,

dismounted from your splendid snow white horse,

and wandering here in this secret place,

only accompanied by a savage Moor,

if it isn't for the fact that foul desire led you here?

LAVINIA.

And, being intercepted in your sport,

Great reason that my noble lord be rated

For sauciness. I pray you let us hence,

And let her joy her raven-coloured love;

This valley fits the purpose passing well.

And, being interrupted in your games,

that's the reason that my noble Lord is chastised

for impertinence. Please, let's go away,

and let her get her fill of her dark lover;

this valley is pretty suitable for the purpose.

BASSIANUS.

The King my brother shall have notice of this.

My brother the King shall be told about this.

LAVINIA.

Ay, for these slips have made him noted long.

Good king, to be so mightily abused!

Yes, for this immorality has disgraced him for a long time.

What a good king, that he should be so dreadfully abused!

TAMORA.

Why, I have patience to endure all this.

Enter CHIRON and DEMETRIUS

Well, I can put up with this.

DEMETRIUS.

How now, dear sovereign, and our gracious mother!

Why doth your Highness look so pale and wan?

Hello, dear Queen, and our gracious mother!

Why does your Highness look so pale and sickly?

TAMORA.

Have I not reason, think you, to look pale?

These two have 'ticed me hither to this place.

A barren detested vale you see it is:

The trees, though summer, yet forlorn and lean,

Overcome with moss and baleful mistletoe;

Here never shines the sun; here nothing breeds,

Unless the nightly owl or fatal raven.

And when they show'd me this abhorred pit,

They told me, here, at dead time of the night,

A thousand fiends, a thousand hissing snakes,

Ten thousand swelling toads, as many urchins,

Would make such fearful and confused cries

As any mortal body hearing it

Should straight fall mad or else die suddenly.

No sooner had they told this hellish tale

But straight they told me they would bind me here

Unto the body of a dismal yew,

And leave me to this miserable death.

And then they call'd me foul adulteress,

Lascivious Goth, and all the bitterest terms

That ever ear did hear to such effect;

And had you not by wondrous fortune come,

This vengeance on me had they executed.

Revenge it, as you love your mother's life,

Or be ye not henceforth call'd my children.

Don't you think I have good reason to look pale?

These two have tricked me to this place:

you can see it's a horrible barren valley;

even though it's summer the trees are wasted and thin,

overrun by moss and evil mistletoe;

the sun never shines here, nothing breeds here

unless it is the night owl and the ominous raven.

And when they showed me this revolting pit,

they told me that here at the dead of night

a thousand daemons, a thousand hissing snakes,

ten thousand swelling toads, the same number of goblins,

would make such a devilish cacophony

that any mortal person hearing it

would become mad at once, or else suddenly die.

No sooner had they told me this awful tale

then they told me that they would tie me here

to the trunk of a dismal yew tree

and leave me to this miserable death.

And then they called me a foul adulteress,

a lecherous Goth, and all themost horrible things

that you could possibly imagine.

If you hadn't so luckily arrived

they would have carried out this vengeance on me.

Revenge it out of love for your mother

or you won't be called my children from now on.

DEMETRIUS.

This is a witness that I am thy son.

[Stabs BASSIANUS]

This proves that I am your son.

CHIRON.

And this for me, struck home to show my strength.

[Also stabs]

And the same for me, I strike to prove the strength of my love.

LAVINIA.

Ay, come, Semiramis- nay, barbarous Tamora,

For no name fits thy nature but thy own!

Yes, come, Semiramis–no, savage Tamora,