The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (516 page)

Where is Demetrius? O, how fit a word

Where is Demetrius? Oh the one who belongs

Is that vile name to perish on my sword!

To that name will die on my sword!

HELENA

Do not say so, Lysander; say not so

Don’t say that, Lysander. Who

What though he love your Hermia? Lord, what though?

Cares if he loves Hermia? Who cares?

Yet Hermia still loves you: then be content.

Hermia loves you instead, so be at peace.

LYSANDER

Content with Hermia! No; I do repent

At peace with Hermia! No, I regret

The tedious minutes I with her have spent.

Spending these painful minutes with her.

Not Hermia but Helena I love:

I love Helena, not Hermia:

Who will not change a raven for a dove?

Who would not trade a raven for a pure dove?

The will of man is by his reason sway'd;

A man’s reason guides his will

And reason says you are the worthier maid.

And my reason says you are much worthier than Hermia.

Things growing are not ripe until their season

Plants do not get ripe until they are old enough,

So I, being young, till now ripe not to reason;

And the same is true for me: I was not ripe enough to see you until now.

And touching now the point of human skill,

Now, as to human abilities:

Reason becomes the marshal to my will

Reason has changed my desires

And leads me to your eyes, where I o'erlook

And lead them to your eyes, in which I see

Love's stories written in love's richest book.

The greatest stories of love in love’s best book.

HELENA

Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born?

Why was I born to be made fun of?

When at your hands did I deserve this scorn?

When have I deserved to be treated so rudely by you?

Is't not enough, is't not enough, young man,

Isn’t it more than enough, young man,

That I did never, no, nor never can,

That I have never, and will never,

Deserve a sweet look from Demetrius' eye,

Receive a kind look from Demetrius?

But you must flout my insufficiency?

And on top of that now you mock my shortcomings to Hermia?

Good troth, you do me wrong, good sooth, you do,

Seriously, you are treating me evilly

In such disdainful manner me to woo.

By speaking to me so disdainfully.

But fare you well: perforce I must confess

Now, goodbye. Though first I must say

I thought you lord of more true gentleness.

That I thought you were much more noble.

O, that a lady, of one man refused.

I am already a lady one man refuses,

Should of another therefore be abused!

And now must I be one that another treats poorly?

Exit

LYSANDER

She sees not Hermia. Hermia, sleep thou there:

She didn’t see Hermia. Hermia, stay asleep

And never mayst thou come Lysander near!

And never come near me again!

For as a surfeit of the sweetest things

I feel overstuffed with sweet things, like how eating desserts

The deepest loathing to the stomach brings,

Makes the stomach feel ill.

Or as tie heresies that men do leave

Or, false beliefs that men stop believing

Are hated most of those they did deceive,

Are hated most by the men they formerly deceived.

So thou, my surfeit and my heresy,

So you, Hermia, whom I have been overstuffed with, and whom I falsely believed in,

Of all be hated, but the most of me!

You will be hated most by me!

And, all my powers, address your love and might

I will turn all of my power and strength and love

To honour Helen and to be her knight!

Toward Helen in order to win her!

Exit

HERMIA

[Awaking] Help me, Lysander, help me! do thy best

Lysander, help me! Do something

To pluck this crawling serpent from my breast!

And get this snake off of me!

Ay me, for pity! what a dream was here!

Oh my! What a dream that was!

Lysander, look how I do quake with fear:

Lysander, look how much I am shivering from fright:

Methought a serpent eat my heart away,

I thought a serpent was eating my heart

And you sat smiling at his cruel pray.

While you sat by smiling and watching.

Lysander! what, removed? Lysander! lord!

Lysander! What, is he gone? Lysander!

What, out of hearing? gone? no sound, no word?

Can he not hear me? Is he gone without giving me notice?

Alack, where are you speak, an if you hear;

If you hear me speak,

Speak, of all loves! I swoon almost with fear.

Speak, Lysander! I am almost fainting from fear.

No? then I well perceive you all not nigh

No? Then I suppose you are not nearby.

Either death or you I'll find immediately.

I will either die, or find you right away.

Exit

The wood. TITANIA lying asleep.

Enter QUINCE, SNUG, BOTTOM, FLUTE, SNOUT, and STARVELING

BOTTOM

Are we all met?

Is everyone here?

QUINCE

Pat, pat; and here's a marvellous convenient place

Everyone is on time even. This is a perfect place

for our rehearsal. This green plot shall be our

to rehearse the play. The green area over there will be

stage, this hawthorn-brake our tiring-house; and we

the stage and this large bush our dressing room. We

will do it in action as we will do it before the duke.

will perform it exactly as we will in front of the duke.

BOTTOM

Peter Quince,--

Peter Quince--

QUINCE

What sayest thou, bully Bottom?

What is it, good Bottom?

BOTTOM

There are things in this comedy of Pyramus and

I am worried that some parts of this comedy of Pyramus and

Thisby that will never please. First, Pyramus must

Thisby will not be acceptable. For example, Pyramus

draw a sword to kill himself; which the ladies

kills himself with a sword, something ladies

cannot abide. How answer you that?

cannot watch. What can we do about that?

SNOUT

By'r lakin, a parlous fear.

By God, that’s a scary problem.

STARVELING

I believe we must leave the killing out, when all is done.

It seems we must leave out the suicide.

BOTTOM

Not a whit: I have a device to make all well.

No, we won’t: I have an idea to make it work well.

Write me a prologue; and let the prologue seem to

Write a prologue that I can say before the play starts, saying

say, we will do no harm with our swords, and that

that we will not hurt anyone with our swords, and that

Pyramus is not killed indeed; and, for the more

Pyramus does not actually die – actually, even

better assurance, tell them that I, Pyramus, am not

better, tell them that I am not really

Pyramus, but Bottom the weaver: this will put them

Pyramus, but am Bottom the weaver. Saying this will

out of fear.

calm their fears.

QUINCE

Well, we will have such a prologue; and it shall be

Okay, and we will write that prologue in

written in eight and six.

ballad form.

BOTTOM

No, make it two more; let it be written in eight and eight.

No, make each line even syllables.

SNOUT

Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion?

Won’t the ladies be afraid of the lion?

STARVELING

I fear it, I promise you.

I am worried about that, really.

BOTTOM

Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves: to

Yes, friends, we should all think about this: to

bring in--God shield us!--a lion among ladies, is a

bring a lion – a lion! – into the company of women, is an

most dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearful

awful thing. There is not a scarier

wild-fowl than your lion living; and we ought to

bird alive than a lion, and we would do well

look to 't.

to think about this.

SNOUT

Therefore another prologue must tell he is not a lion.

So why not write another prologue explaining that he is not a real lion?

BOTTOM

Nay, you must name his name, and half his face must

That’s not enough: we must name the actor, and show half the face

be seen through the lion's neck: and he himself

through the lion’s neck. And he should

must speak through, saying thus, or to the same

speak directly to the audience, saying something

defect,--'Ladies,'--or 'Fair-ladies--I would wish

like, “Ladies,” or “Fair ladies, I hope”

You,'--or 'I would request you,'--or 'I would

or, “I would like to ask you,” or “I

entreat you,--not to fear, not to tremble: my life

beg of you, do not be afraid. I am as concerned for your life

for yours. If you think I come hither as a lion, it