The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (521 page)

LYSANDER

Stay, gentle Helena; hear my excuse:

Wait, Helena, hear what I have to say,

My love, my life my soul, fair Helena!

Dear love, the life of my soul, beautiful Helena!

HELENA

O excellent!

Great, more joking.

HERMIA

Sweet, do not scorn her so.

Darling, do not mock her like that.

DEMETRIUS

If she cannot entreat, I can compel.

If Hermia can’t get you to stop, I can force you to.

LYSANDER

Thou canst compel no more than she entreat:

Your forcing will have no more strength than Hermia’s pleas.

Thy threats have no more strength than her weak prayers.

Your threats are not stronger than her prayers.

Helen, I love thee; by my life, I do:

Helena, I swear by my life that I love you,

I swear by that which I will lose for thee,

And will lose that life for you,

To prove him false that says I love thee not.

Just to prove Demetrius wrong who says I do not love you.

DEMETRIUS

I say I love thee more than he can do.

I say I love you more than Lysander does.

LYSANDER

If thou say so, withdraw, and prove it too.

If you think so, then draw your sword and prove it.

DEMETRIUS

Quick, come!

Alright, come!

HERMIA

Lysander, whereto tends all this?

Lysander, why are you doing all of this?

LYSANDER

Away, you Ethiope!

Get away from me, African woman!

DEMETRIUS

No, no; he'll

No, he’ll

Seem to break loose; take on as you would follow,

Pretend to leave you, Hermia. And you Lysander will pretend to fight

But yet come not: you are a tame man, go!

But will not advance toward me. You are a cowardly man, go away!

LYSANDER

Hang off, thou cat, thou burr! vile thing, let loose,

Get off of me, you cat, you thorn! Awful thing, let go of me,

Or I will shake thee from me like a serpent!

Hermia, or I will shake you off as if you are a serpent!

HERMIA

Why are you grown so rude? what change is this?

Why have you become so mean? What changed?

Sweet love,--

My love--

LYSANDER

Thy love! out, tawny Tartar, out!

Your love! No, get away, you black skinned Tartar!

Out, loathed medicine! hated potion, hence!

Out, evil medicine, hated potion!

HERMIA

Do you not jest?

Are you not joking?

HELENA

Yes, sooth; and so do you.

Yes, of course he is, and you are as well.

LYSANDER

Demetrius, I will keep my word with thee.

Demetrius, I will duel you now.

DEMETRIUS

I would I had your bond, for I perceive

I wish I believed your bond, for I see

A weak bond holds you: I'll not trust your word.

That you seem to make promises you break easily, so I won’t trust your word.

LYSANDER

What, should I hurt her, strike her, kill her dead?

What must I do, hurt Hermia? Hit her? Kill her?

Although I hate her, I'll not harm her so.

Though I hate her, I will not do that.

HERMIA

What, can you do me greater harm than hate?

What harm can you do to me that is greater than hate?

Hate me! wherefore? O me! what news, my love!

Hate me! Why? Oh my! What has happened, my love?

Am not I Hermia? are not you Lysander?

Aren’t I Hermia? Aren’t you Lysander?

I am as fair now as I was erewhile.

I am just as beautiful as I was before.

Since night you loved me; yet since night you left me:

Since the night started you still loved me, but then you left me:

Why, then you left me--O, the gods forbid!--

Then you left me-- Oh God forbid!--

In earnest, shall I say?

Did you really? Must I admit that?

LYSANDER

Ay, by my life;

Yes, I did,

And never did desire to see thee more.

And I do not wish to see you again.

Therefore be out of hope, of question, of doubt;

Stop questioning and stop wondering, stop hoping:

Be certain, nothing truer; 'tis no jest

Be certain, because nothing is more true than this: I am not joking

That I do hate thee and love Helena.

That I hate you and love Helena.

HERMIA

O me! you juggler! you canker-blossom!

Oh my! Helena, you awful thorn!

You thief of love! what, have you come by night

You thief! Did you come in the night

And stolen my love's heart from him?

And steal Lysander’s heart from me?

HELENA

Fine, i'faith!

That’s a nice touch.

Have you no modesty, no maiden shame,

Have you no shame at all,

No touch of bashfulness? What, will you tear

No slight remorse? Are you trying to make me angry

Impatient answers from my gentle tongue?

In order to get me to say impatient and evil things?

Fie, fie! you counterfeit, you puppet, you!

Damn you! You fake, you puppet!

HERMIA

Puppet? why so? ay, that way goes the game.

Puppet? Why that? Oh now I see.

Now I perceive that she hath made compare

Helena has compared

Between our statures; she hath urged her height;

Our heights, and, taller, has praised her own height:

And with her personage, her tall personage,

Because she is tall, taller than me,

Her height, forsooth, she hath prevail'd with him.

She has convinced Lysander to love her instead.

And are you grown so high in his esteem;

Did you grow in his eyes because of this?

Because I am so dwarfish and so low?

Because I am so short, like a dwarf, and thus a person of lower quality?

How low am I, thou painted maypole? speak;

Well how low of a person am I, you who is as tall as a maypole?

How low am I? I am not yet so low

I know this much: I am not so short

But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.

That I cannot scratch your eyes out with my nails.

HELENA

I pray you, though you mock me, gentlemen,

Please, men, though you are making fun of me,

Let her not hurt me: I was never curst;

Don’t let her hurt me. I was never cursed at

I have no gift at all in shrewishness;

And am not good at being an evil woman.

I am a right maid for my cowardice:

It is better that I am a coward,

Let her not strike me. You perhaps may think,

But let her not hit me. You may think that

Because she is something lower than myself,

Because she is shorter

That I can match her.

I can fight her off.

HERMIA

Lower! hark, again.

See! She says “shorter” again.

HELENA

Good Hermia, do not be so bitter with me.

Hermia, do not be bitter with me.

I evermore did love you, Hermia,

I have always loved you, Hermia,

Did ever keep your counsels, never wrong'd you;

Always kept your secrets, never wronged you,

Save that, in love unto Demetrius,

Until this: because of my love for Demetrius

I told him of your stealth unto this wood.

I told him of your plans to run away into the forest.

He follow'd you; for love I follow'd him;

He followed you and for love I followed him,

But he hath chid me hence and threaten'd me

But then he turned me away and threatened

To strike me, spurn me, nay, to kill me too:

To hit me, no, even to kill me.

And now, so you will let me quiet go,

Now, let me quietly go away,

To Athens will I bear my folly back

Back to Athens where I will bring my mistakes with me

And follow you no further: let me go:

And will not follow you anymore. Let me go,

You see how simple and how fond I am.

You see see how simple and foolishly in love I am.

HERMIA

Why, get you gone: who is't that hinders you?

Then go: what keeps you here?

HELENA

A foolish heart, that I leave here behind.

A foolish heart that I must force myself to give up.

HERMIA

What, with Lysander?

Your love for Lysander?

HELENA

With Demetrius.

For Demetrius.

LYSANDER

Be not afraid; she shall not harm thee, Helena.

Do not fear, Helena, Hermia will not hurt you.

DEMETRIUS

No, sir, she shall not, though you take her part.

No, she won’t, even if you, Lysander, try to help her.

HELENA

O, when she's angry, she is keen and shrewd!

Oh, she is so smart and vicious when she is angry!

She was a vixen when she went to school;

She was a vixen at school,

And though she be but little, she is fierce.

And though she is little, she can be fierce.

HERMIA

'Little' again! nothing but 'low' and 'little'!

“Little” again! You keep saying “low” and “little”!

Why will you suffer her to flout me thus?

Why do you both allow her to mock me like this?

Let me come to her.

Let me get to her.

LYSANDER

Get you gone, you dwarf;

Go away, you dwarf,

You minimus, of hindering knot-grass made;

You miniature thing made of grass,

You bead, you acorn.

You bead, you acorn.

DEMETRIUS

You are too officious

That is going to far,

In her behalf that scorns your services.

Especially for one who does not want your love or aid.

Let her alone: speak not of Helena;

Let Helena alone, do not speak for her

Take not her part; for, if thou dost intend

And stop taking Helena’s side. If you continue

Never so little show of love to her,

To treat Hermia so poorly,

Thou shalt aby it.

You’ll pay for it.

LYSANDER

Now she holds me not;

Hermia is nothing to me now.

Now follow, if thou darest, to try whose right,

Now, if you dare, follow me and let us see whose right,

Of thine or mine, is most in Helena.

Yours or mine, is Helena’s love.