The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (605 page)

[Exit GRUMIO.]

HORTENSIO. I know her answer.

PETRUCHIO. What?

HORTENSIO. She will not.

PETRUCHIO. The fouler fortune mine, and there an end.

That will be bad luck for me, and that would be the end.

[Re-enter KATHERINA.]

BAPTISTA. Now, by my holidame, here comes Katherina!

Now, by my holy mother, here comes Katherina!

KATHERINA. What is your sir, that you send for me?

PETRUCHIO. Where is your sister, and Hortensio's wife?

KATHERINA. They sit conferring by the parlour fire.

They sit chatting by the parlor fire.

PETRUCHIO. Go, fetch them hither; if they deny to come,

Go, fetch them here; if they refuse to come,

Swinge me them soundly forth unto their husbands.

Drag them here to their husbands.

Away, I say, and bring them hither straight.

Go, I say, and bring them here straight.

[Exit KATHERINA.]

LUCENTIO. Here is a wonder, if you talk of a wonder.

HORTENSIO. And so it is. I wonder what it bodes.

And so it is. I wonder what it means.

PETRUCHIO. Marry, peace it bodes, and love, and quiet life,

By Mary, it means peace, and love, and quiet life,

An awful rule, and right supremacy;

A respected rule, and correct supremacy;

And, to be short, what not that's sweet and happy.

And, to be short, nothing but sweetness and happiness.

BAPTISTA. Now fair befall thee, good Petruchio!

Now may goodness happen to you, good Petruchio!

The wager thou hast won; and I will add

You have won your bet; and I will add

Unto their losses twenty thousand crowns;

Onto their losses twenty thousand crowns;

Another dowry to another daughter,

Another dowry as if she were yet another daughter,

For she is chang'd, as she had never been.

For she has been changed, as she never had been.

PETRUCHIO. Nay, I will win my wager better yet,

No, I will win the bet even better yet,

And show more sign of her obedience,

And show more evidence of her obedience,

Her new-built virtue and obedience.

Her newly built virtue and obedience.

See where she comes, and brings your froward wives

See where she comes, and brings your rude wives

As prisoners to her womanly persuasion.

[Re-enter KATHERINA with BIANCA and WIDOW.]

Katherine, that cap of yours becomes you not:

Katherine, that cap of yours does not flatter you:

Off with that bauble, throw it underfoot.

Take off that decoration, throw it to your feet.

[KATHERINA pulls off her cap and throws it down.]

WIDOW. Lord, let me never have a cause to sigh

Lord, let me never have a reason to sigh

Till I be brought to such a silly pass!

Until I have been brought to such a silly situation!

BIANCA. Fie! what a foolish duty call you this?

Fie! What foolish duty do you call this?

LUCENTIO. I would your duty were as foolish too;

I wish your duty was as foolish too;

The wisdom of your duty, fair Bianca,

The wisdom of your duty, beautiful Bianca,

Hath cost me a hundred crowns since supper-time!

Has cost me a hundred crowns since suppertime!

BIANCA. The more fool you for laying on my duty.

The more fool you for counting on my duty.

PETRUCHIO. Katherine, I charge thee, tell these headstrong women

Katherine, I command you, tell these headstrong women

What duty they do owe their lords and husbands.

WIDOW. Come, come, you're mocking; we will have no telling.

PETRUCHIO. Come on, I say; and first begin with her.

WIDOW. She shall not.

PETRUCHIO. I say she shall: and first begin with her.

KATHERINA. Fie, fie! unknit that threatening unkind brow,

Enough, enough! Smooth out that threatening unkind face,

And dart not scornful glances from those eyes

And do not send scornful glances from those eyes

To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor:

To wound your lord, your king, your ruler:

It blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the meads,

It upsets your beauty the way frosts damage the flowers,

Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake fair buds,

Makes you look bad the way whirlwinds shake pretty buds,

And in no sense is meet or amiable.

And in no way is appropriate or pleasing.

A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled,

An agitated woman is like a troubled fountain,

Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty;

Muddy, ugly, thick, without beauty;

And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty

And while it is like that, no one, no matter how dry or thirsty

Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.

Will bring themselves to sip or touch one drop of it.

Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,

Your husband is your lord, your life, you keeper,

Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,

Your head, your royal; one that cares for you,

And for thy maintenance commits his body

And for your sake and welfare uses his body

To painful labour both by sea and land,

In painful labor in both sea and land,

To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,

Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe;

While you lie warm and home, secure and safe;

And craves no other tribute at thy hands

And wants no other repayment from your hands

But love, fair looks, and true obedience;

But love, sweet looks, and true obedience;

Too little payment for so great a debt.

Such duty as the subject owes the prince,

Even such a woman oweth to her husband;

Is the same as what a omwan owes to her husband;

And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour,

And when she is rude, grumpy, sullen, sour,

And not obedient to his honest will,

What is she but a foul contending rebel

What is she but a disgusting, fighting rebel

And graceless traitor to her loving lord?--

I am asham'd that women are so simple

I am ashamed that women are so foolish

To offer war where they should kneel for peace,

Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,

Or try for rule, dominance, and influence,

When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.

When they are supposed to serve, love, and obey.

Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth,

Unapt to toll and trouble in the world,

Not suitable for hard work and trouble in the world,

But that our soft conditions and our hearts

But except our soft conditions and our hearts

Should well agree with our external parts?

Should agree with our outside parts?

Come, come, you froward and unable worms!

Come, come, you rude and incapable worms!

My mind hath been as big as one of yours,

My mind has been as big as one of yours,

My heart as great, my reason haply more,

My heart as big, my reason perhaps more,

To bandy word for word and frown for frown;

To fight with word for word and frown for frown;

But now I see our lances are but straws,

But now I see our lances are only straws,

Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,

That seeming to be most which we indeed least are.

That seems to be most what we indeed are least.

Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot,

Then cover your stomachs, for it is no boot,

And place your hands below your husband's foot:

In token of which duty, if he please,

My hand is ready; may it do him ease.

PETRUCHIO. Why, there's a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate.

Why, there's a girl! Come on, and kiss me, Kate.

LUCENTIO. Well, go thy ways, old lad, for thou shalt ha't.

Well, go your way, old lad, for you shall have it.

VINCENTIO. 'Tis a good hearing when children are toward.

It is good when children are coming.

LUCENTIO. But a harsh hearing when women are froward.

But bad when women are rude.

PETRUCHIO. Come, Kate, we'll to bed. We three are married, but you two are sped.

Come, Kate, we will go to bed. We three are married, but you two need to go.

'Twas I won the wager, [To LUCENTIO.] though you hit the white;

It was I who won the wager, though you came close;

And being a winner, God give you good night!

[Exeunt PETRUCHIO and KATHERINA.]

HORTENSIO. Now go thy ways; thou hast tam'd a curst shrew.

Now go on your way; you have tamed a cursed shrew.

LUCENTIO. 'Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tam'd so.

It's amazing, if you will, that she was tamed like that.

[Exeunt.]

SCENE: Sometimes in Padua, and sometimes in PETRUCHIO'S house in the country.