The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (510 page)

Oh Hermia, what is wrong? Why are you pale?

How chance the roses there do fade so fast?

How did the rosy redness of your cheeks fade away so quickly?

HERMIA

Belike for want of rain, which I could well

Like roses, my cheeks need rain, which I could

Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes.

Give them by crying a storm upon them.

LYSANDER

Ay me! for aught that I could ever read,

Oh no! But listen: everything I have read,

Could ever hear by tale or history,

Either in fairy tale or true history,

The course of true love never did run smooth;

Says true love must always overcome problems:

But, either it was different in blood,--

Sometimes the problem is being from different classes--

HERMIA

O cross! too high to be enthrall'd to low.

How horrible to be so wealthy and in love with someone so poor!

LYSANDER

Or else misgraffed in respect of years,--

And sometimes there was a great age difference--

HERMIA

O spite! too old to be engaged to young.

How awful to be so old and marrying someone so young!

LYSANDER

Or else it stood upon the choice of friends,--

And sometimes the lovers’ friends were against the match--

HERMIA

O hell! to choose love by another's eyes.

How hellish to have to love only whom someone else chose!

LYSANDER

Or, if there were a sympathy in choice,

And sometimes, if the match was a good one,

War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it,

War or death or illness attacked it

Making it momentary as a sound,

And ended it, as transient as a sound becoming silent,

Swift as a shadow, short as any dream;

As quick as a shadow disappearing, as short as a dream upon waking,

Brief as the lightning in the collied night,

As brief as a lightning strike in the black night sky

That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth,

That at once shows the earth and the sky

And ere a man hath power to say 'Behold!'

And, before a man can say “Look!”

The jaws of darkness do devour it up:

Is gone into darkness, as if swallowed.

So quick bright things come to confusion.

Thus, good and bright things may quickly change.

HERMIA

If then true lovers have been ever cross'd,

Then it seems that true lovers are so often troubled

It stands as an edict in destiny:

That fighting obstacles is their fate.

Then let us teach our trial patience,

So we should be patient in this trial

Because it is a customary cross,

Because it is just as normal of a problem

As due to love as thoughts and dreams and sighs,

For lovers as thoughts, dreams, sighs

Wishes and tears, poor fancy's followers.

Wishes, and tears – all things that accompany love.

LYSANDER

A good persuasion: therefore, hear me, Hermia.

I agree, Hermia, now listen:

I have a widow aunt, a dowager

I have a widowed aunt

Of great revenue, and she hath no child:

Who is very wealthy and has no child for her inheritance.

From Athens is her house remote seven leagues;

She lives far from Athens

And she respects me as her only son.

And loves me like a son.

There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee;

We should thus, gentle Hermia, go there to wed,

And to that place the sharp Athenian law

Because that far away the Athenian Law

Cannot pursue us. If thou lovest me then,

Has no effect. So, if you love me,

Steal forth thy father's house to-morrow night;

Run away from your father’s house tomorrow night

And in the wood, a league without the town,

And go to the forest, a mile outside of town,

Where I did meet thee once with Helena,

To the place where I once met Helena

To do observance to a morn of May,

And watched the sunrise one May:

There will I stay for thee.

I will wait for you there.

HERMIA

My good Lysander!

Oh good Lysander!

I swear to thee, by Cupid's strongest bow,

I promise, by the bow of Cupid, messenger of Love,

By his best arrow with the golden head,

By his best arrow with a golden tip,

By the simplicity of Venus' doves,

By Venus’ doves which are simple and pure,

By that which knitteth souls and prospers loves,

By the fates that tie lovers together and gives them success,

And by that fire which burn'd the Carthage queen,

And by the fire that the Carthage queen burned herself in

When the false Troyan under sail was seen,

When her lover from Troy left by the sea,

By all the vows that ever men have broke,

By all the promises that men have broken

In number more than ever women spoke,

Which far outnumber the promises women made,

In that same place thou hast appointed me,

In the place that you have told me to go

To-morrow truly will I meet with thee.

Will I be, tomorrow, to see you.

LYSANDER

Keep promise, love. Look, here comes Helena.

Keep your word, love. Look, here comes Helena.

Enter HELENA

HERMIA

God speed fair Helena! whither away?

Greetings beautiful Helena! Where are you going?

HELENA

Call you me fair? that fair again unsay.

You call me beautiful? Well don’t:

Demetrius loves your fair: O happy fair!

Demetrius prefers your beauty – oh, that is the best beauty!

Your eyes are lode-stars; and your tongue's sweet air

Your eyes are like bright stars and your voice

More tuneable than lark to shepherd's ear,

Is more pleasing than the songbird is to the shepherd

When wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear.

In Springtime when the wheat is still green and the flower buds first appear.

Sickness is catching: O, were favour so,

I feel sick: if only a lover’s preference were like sickness,

Yours would I catch, fair Hermia, ere I go;

Then I could catch Demetrius’s favor from you, fair Helena, before I leave.

My ear should catch your voice, my eye your eye,

Your voice would infect my ear and my eyes would become as yours,

My tongue should catch your tongue's sweet melody.

My voice as sweet and melodious as your voice.

Were the world mine, Demetrius being bated,

Were everything in the world mine except Demetrius,

The rest I'd give to be to you translated.

I would give it to you just to be changed into you.

O, teach me how you look, and with what art

Teach me how you create your beauty and how

You sway the motion of Demetrius' heart.

You captured Demetrius’s eye and favor.

HERMIA

I frown upon him, yet he loves me still.

I never smile at him, I only frown, but it has no effect: he loves me still.

HELENA

O that your frowns would teach my smiles such skill!

I wish I could teach my smiles how to be as alluring as your frowns!

HERMIA

I give him curses, yet he gives me love.

I am rude to him and curse him, and he responds in love.

HELENA

O that my prayers could such affection move!

I wish my prayers and well-wishing could be as powerful!

HERMIA

The more I hate, the more he follows me.

I hate him more and more, and all it does is make him follow me more.

HELENA

The more I love, the more he hateth me.

And the more I love him, the more he hates me.

HERMIA

His folly, Helena, is no fault of mine.

I have done nothing to warrant his silly feelings for me.

HELENA

None, but your beauty: would that fault were mine!

No, but your beauty has done enough: I wish I had that problem.

HERMIA

Take comfort: he no more shall see my face;

Don’t worry, he will not see me anymore

Lysander and myself will fly this place.

After Lysander and I run away.

Before the time I did Lysander see,

Before I met Lysander,

Seem'd Athens as a paradise to me:

Athens was my paradise:

O, then, what graces in my love do dwell,

But Lysander is so wonderful

That he hath turn'd a heaven unto a hell!

That in comparison this heaven is more like a hell!

LYSANDER

Helen, to you our minds we will unfold:

Helen, we will tell you our secret:

To-morrow night, when Phoebe doth behold

Tomorrow night, when the moon looks down,

Her silver visage in the watery glass,

Like a silver eye, on a lake,

Decking with liquid pearl the bladed grass,

Coloring each blade of grass silver,

A time that lovers' flights doth still conceal,

A time late at night that hides lovers’ plans from those asleep,

Through Athens' gates have we devised to steal.

We have planned to leave Athens.

HERMIA

And in the wood, where often you and I

And in the forest where we used to

Upon faint primrose-beds were wont to lie,

Lie on the flower beds

Emptying our bosoms of their counsel sweet,

And talk about everything on our minds,

There my Lysander and myself shall meet;

That is where Lysander and I will meet.

And thence from Athens turn away our eyes,

From then, we will no longer look at Athens

To seek new friends and stranger companies.

And instead seek out new friends and communities.

Farewell, sweet playfellow: pray thou for us;

Goodbye my friend! Pray for us

And good luck grant thee thy Demetrius!

And we wish you good luck with Demetrius!

Keep word, Lysander: we must starve our sight

Be faithful, Lysander. Now we must not

From lovers' food till morrow deep midnight.

See each otehr until late tomorrow night.

LYSANDER

I will, my Hermia.

Exit HERMIA

Helena, adieu:

Goodbye, Helena:

As you on him, Demetrius dote on you!

I hope Demetrius returns the love you give to him!

Exit

HELENA

How happy some o'er other some can be!

Some are so much happier than others!

Through Athens I am thought as fair as she.

In Athens, many think me as beautiful as Hermia,

But what of that? Demetrius thinks not so;