The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (622 page)

I hand over to you: all your hard labor
Were but my trials of thy love and thou

Was only a trial of your love and you
Hast strangely stood the test here, afore Heaven,

Have passed the test unusually well, and, before the eyes of Heaven,
I ratify this my rich gift. O Ferdinand,

I give you the hand of my daughter. Oh, Ferdinand,
Do not smile at me that I boast her off,

Don’t smile at me that I brag about her,
For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise

For you will find that she will surpass all praise
And make it halt behind her.

And make it stop behind her in awe.

FERDINAND

I do believe it

I believe it,
Against an oracle.

Even if a prophet were to say otherwise.

PROSPERO

Then, as my gift and thine own acquisition

Then, as my gift and your very own treature
Worthily purchased take my daughter: but

Achieved admirably, take my daugher’s hand: but
If thou dost break her virgin-knot before

If you take her virginity before
All sanctimonious ceremonies may

Your wedding ceremony is
With full and holy rite be minister'd,

Completely finished in the eyes of God,
No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall

The heavens won’t shower you with their blessings
To make this contract grow: but barren hate,

To make your marriage grow healthily: but instead, harsh hate,
Sour-eyed disdain and discord shall bestrew

Evil-eyed scorn and conflict will plant

The union of your bed with weeds so loathly

In your bed of sexual union, loathsome weeds instead of flowers,
That you shall hate it both: therefore take heed,

So that you will both hate it: so pay close attention to
As Hymen's lamps shall light you.

The marriage god give his blessing.

FERDINAND

As I hope

The same as I hope
For quiet days, fair issue and long life,

For peaceful days, beautiful children and long life,
With such love as 'tis now, the murkiest den,

With the love that we have now, I can tell you that not even the darkest pit,
The most opportune place, the strong'st suggestion.

The most opportune moment, the strongest suggestion
Our worser genius can, shall never melt

From the devil on my shoulder, will ever change
Mine honour into lust, to take away

My honor into lust, and take away
The edge of that day's celebration

The passion of our wedding day
When I shall think: or Phoebus' steeds are founder'd,

When I will be thinking in anticipation of that night that the sun god’s chariot horses must be lame
Or Night kept chain'd below.

Or that Night has been chained below the horizon.

PROSPERO

Fairly spoke.

That was well spoken.
Sit then and talk with her; she is thine own.

Sit then and talk with her; she is your fiancé now.
What, Ariel! my industrious servant, Ariel!

Hello Ariel! My hard working servant, Ariel!

Enter ARIEL

ARIEL

What would my potent master? here I am.

What is it, my powerful master? Here I am.

PROSPERO

Thou and thy meaner fellows your last service

You and your lower-ranked fellow-spirits performed your last task
Did worthily perform; and I must use you

Very admirably; and I must use you
In such another trick. Go bring the rabble,

In another trick of the same kind. Go get the rest of the gang,
O'er whom I give thee power, here to this place:

Over whom I give you power, and bring them here:
Incite them to quick motion; for I must

Encourage them to move quickly; for I must
Bestow upon the eyes of this young couple

Present for this young couple’s viewing
Some vanity of mine art: it is my promise,

Some small display of my magic: I promised to do so,
And they expect it from me.

And they expect it from me.

ARIEL

Presently?

Right now?

PROSPERO

Ay, with a twink.

Yes, in just the wink of an eye.

ARIEL

Before you can say 'come' and 'go,'

Before you can say ‘come’ and ‘go’,
And breathe twice and cry 'so, so,'

Breath twice and yell out ‘so, so,’
Each one, tripping on his toe,

Every one of us, tripping over our feet,
Will be here with mop and mow.

Will be here pouting and grimacing.
Do you love me, master? no?

You love me master, don’t you?

PROSPERO

Dearly my delicate Ariel. Do not approach

I love you dearly, my excellent Ariel. Don’t come
Till thou dost hear me call.

Until you hear me call.

ARIEL

Well, I conceive.

Well, I understand.

Exit

PROSPERO

Look thou be true; do not give dalliance

Look you too, be true to one another; don’t give flirting
Too much the rein: the strongest oaths are straw

Too much freedom: the strongest oaths easily go up in flames
To the fire i' the blood: be more abstemious,

In the fires of passion: be more self-disciplined,
Or else, good night your vow!

Or else, you can say good bye to your wedding vows!

FERDINAND

I warrant you sir;

I promise you sir;
The white cold virgin snow upon my heart

The white modest virgin snow of your daughter’s love in my heart
Abates the ardour of my liver.

Dampens the passion in my loins.

PROSPERO

Well.

Good then.
Now come, my Ariel! bring a corollary,

Now come with me, my Ariel! Bring a companion,
Rather than want a spirit: appear and pertly!

Rather than be without a fellow-spirit: appear and quickly!
No tongue! all eyes! be silent.

Don’t speak! Just watch! Be Silent.

Soft music

Enter IRIS

IRIS

Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas

Cerse, goddess of the harvest, most giving lady, your rich meadows
Of wheat, rye, barley, vetches, oats and pease;

Of wheat, rye, barley, hay, oats and peas;
Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep,

Your grassy mountains, where sheep live nibbling,
And flat meads thatch'd with stover, them to keep;

And flat meadows covered with winter-straw, to feed your sheep;
Thy banks with pioned and twilled brims,

Your hills with trenched and tangled borders,
Which spongy April at thy hest betrims,

Which rainy April embellishes at your command,
To make cold nymphs chaste crowns; and thy broom -groves,

With flowers to make virgin nymphs’ innocent crowns; and your groves of yellow-flowered shrubs,
Whose shadow the dismissed bachelor loves,

Whose shade the rejected young man loves,
Being lass-lorn: thy pole-clipt vineyard;

Having been discarded by his sweetheart: your vineyard with poles covered in vines;
And thy sea-marge, sterile and rocky-hard,

And the coast of the sea, bleak and rocky,
Where thou thyself dost air;--the queen o' the sky,

Where you the goddess yourself enjoy the fresh air;--the godess of the sky,
Whose watery arch and messenger am I,

As I am the sky’s messenger and rainbow,
Bids thee leave these, and with her sovereign grace,

Asks you to leave your people, and together with the ruling goddess,
Here on this grass-plot, in this very place,

Come and have fun here on this field, in this very place:
To come and sport: her peacocks fly amain:

Her peacocks fly here at full speed:
Approach, rich Ceres, her to entertain.

Come here, rich Ceres, to welcome her.

Enter CERES

CERES

Hail, many-colour'd messenger, that ne'er

Hello, rainbow colored messenger, that has never
Dost disobey the wife of Jupiter;

Disobeyed the wife of Jove, the god of thunder;
Who with thy saffron wings upon my flowers

You, who with your golden wings
Diffusest honey-drops, refreshing showers,

Spread drops of honey over my flowers, refreshing showers,
And with each end of thy blue bow dost crown

And with each end of your rainbow you put the finishing touch on
My bosky acres and my unshrubb'd down,

My bushy acres and my treeless hills,
Rich scarf to my proud earth; why hath thy queen

You are like a beautiful scarf to my wonderful earth; why has your queen
Summon'd me hither, to this short-grass'd green?

Summoned me here, to this neatly trimmed lawn?

IRIS

A contract of true love to celebrate;

To celebrate a marriage of true love;
And some donation freely to estate

And to present some freely given gifts
On the blest lovers.

To the blessed lovers.

CERES

Tell me, heavenly bow,

Tell me, holy rainbow,
If Venus or her son, as thou dost know,

Do Venus, the goddess of love, or her son, as far as you know,
Do now attend the queen? Since they did plot

Come with the queen? Since they designed
The means that dusky Dis my daughter got,

The plan for the dark god of the underworld to take my daughter,
Her and her blind boy's scandal'd company

I have rejected her and her blind son’s

I have forsworn.

Immoral company.

IRIS

Of her society

Don’t be afraid
Be not afraid: I met her deity

Of seeing those two: I saw that goddess
Cutting the clouds towards Paphos and her son

Traveling through the clouds toward the city Paphos on Cyprus with her son
Dove-drawn with her. Here thought they to have done

In a dove-drawn chariot. Here they were, thinking they had put
Some wanton charm upon this man and maid,

Some obscene spell on the man and girl,
Whose vows are, that no bed-right shall be paid

Who have promised that there with be no sexual union
Till Hymen's torch be lighted: but vain;

Until the marriage god has given his blessing: but the goddess and her son did so in vain;
Mars's hot minion is returned again;

Venus, the god Mars’s mistress, has come back again;
Her waspish-headed son has broke his arrows,

Her spiteful son has broken his love-arrows,
Swears he will shoot no more but play with sparrows

And swears he won’t shoot them any more but instead will play with sparrows
And be a boy right out.

And by a normal little boy.

CERES

High'st queen of state,

High queen of the gods,
Great Juno, comes; I know her by her gait.

The great Juno, comes forward; I know the sound of her walk.

Enter JUNO

JUNO

How does my bounteous sister? Go with me

How are you my bountiful sister? Come with me
To bless this twain, that they may prosperous be