The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (1112 page)

CASSANDRA.

O, farewell, dear Hector!

Look how thou diest. Look how thy eye turns pale.

Look how thy wounds do bleed at many vents.

Hark how Troy roars; how Hecuba cries out;

How poor Andromache shrills her dolours forth;

Behold distraction, frenzy, and amazement,

Like witless antics, one another meet,

And all cry, Hector! Hector's dead! O Hector!

Oh, farewell, dear Hector!

Look how you're dying. Look how your eye turns pale.

Look how your wounds bleed from many cuts.

Hear how Troy is roaring; how Hecuba is crying;

how poor Andromache screams out her sorrows;

see how madness, frenzy and bewilderment

meet each other like witless clowns,

and all are crying, ‘Hector! Hector is dead! Oh, Hector!’

TROILUS.

Away, away!

Go away!

CASSANDRA.

Farewell!-yet, soft! Hector, I take my leave.

Thou dost thyself and all our Troy deceive.

Exit

Farewell! But, a moment! Hector, I am going.

You are deceiving yourself and betraying all of Troy.

HECTOR.

You are amaz'd, my liege, at her exclaim.

Go in, and cheer the town; we'll forth, and fight,

Do deeds worth praise and tell you them at night.

You are perplexed, my lord, at her outburst.

Go inside, and rally the town; we'll go out, and fight,

do praiseworthy deeds and we'll tell you about them at night.

PRIAM.

Farewell. The gods with safety stand about thee!

Farewell. May the gods protect you!

Exeunt severally PRIAM and HECTOR.

Alarums

TROILUS.

They are at it, hark! Proud Diomed, believe,

I come to lose my arm or win my sleeve.

They have begun, listen! Proud Diomedes, believe me,

I shall lose my arm or win back my cuff.

Enter PANDARUS

PANDARUS.

Do you hear, my lord? Do you hear?

Have you heard, my lord? Have you heard?

TROILUS.

What now?

What now?

PANDARUS.

Here's a letter come from yond poor girl.

Here's a letter come from the poor girl out there.

TROILUS.

Let me read.

Let me read it.

PANDARUS.

A whoreson tisick, a whoreson rascally tisick so troubles

me, and the foolish fortune of this girl, and what one thing,

what another, that I shall leave you one o' th's days; and I have

a rheum in mine eyes too, and such an ache in my bones that

unless a man were curs'd I cannot tell what to think on't. What

says she there?

A bitching cough, a bitching rascally cough is giving me

so much trouble, along with the unlucky fortunes of this girl, what with one thing

and another I shall be leaving you one of these days; and I have

water in my eyes too, and such an ache in my bones that

unless I was suffering from a curse I don't know what could have caused it.

What does she say there?

TROILUS.

Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart;

Th' effect doth operate another way.

[Tearing the letter]

Go, wind, to wind! Here turn and change together.

My love with words and errors still she feeds,

But edifies another with her deeds. Exeunt severally

Words, words, just words, nothing heartfelt;

things are quite different in practice.

[Tearing the letter]

Empty words into the air! There you can mix up as you please.

She is still feeding my love with words and deceit,

but in practice she's with someone else.

Enter THERSITES. Excursions

THERSITES.

Now they are clapper-clawing one another; I'll go look on. That dissembling abominable varlet, Diomed, has got that same scurvy doting foolish young knave's sleeve of Troy there in his helm. I would fain see them meet, that that same young Troyan ass that loves the whore there might send that Greekish whoremasterly villain with the sleeve back to the dissembling luxurious drab of a sleeve-less errand. A th' t'other side, the policy of those crafty swearing rascals-that stale old mouse-eaten dry cheese, Nestor, and that same dog-fox, Ulysses -is not prov'd worth a blackberry. They set me up, in policy, that mongrel cur, Ajax, against that dog of as bad a kind, Achilles; and now is the cur, Ajax prouder than the cur Achilles, and will not arm to-day; whereupon the Grecians begin to proclaim barbarism, and policy grows into an ill opinion.

Enter DIOMEDES, TROILUS following

Soft! here comes sleeve, and t'other.

Now they are bashing away at each other;

I'll go and watch. That horrible deceitful scoundrel,

Diomedes, has the cuff of that foolish indulgent stupid

young knave of Troy in his helmet. I would love to see

them meet, and see that same young Trojan ass that loves

that whore send that pimping Greek villain

who has the sleeve back to his lying lecherous

whore without it. On the other side, the cunning plan

of those crafty swearing rascals–that stale old mouse

eaten dry cheese, Nestor, and that dog fox,

Ulysses–has been proved to be not worth a damn.

For their own crafty purposes they set that mongrel Ajax

against that equally bad dog, Achilles. And now the dog Ajax is prouder

than the dog Achilles, and won't go to battle today,

and because of this the Greeks begin to embrace barbarism,

and the plans are all falling apart.

Hush! Here comes the one with the cuff, and the other.

TROILUS.

Fly not; for shouldst thou take the river Styx

I would swim after.

Don't run; if you should jump into the river Styx

I would swim after you.

DIOMEDES.

Thou dost miscall retire.

I do not fly; but advantageous care

Withdrew me from the odds of multitude.

Have at thee.

You are misdescribing my tactical retreat.

I was not running; in order to get a better advantage

I drew back in the face of greater numbers.

Take that.

THERSITES.

Hold thy whore, Grecian; now for thy whore,

Troyan-now the sleeve, now the sleeve!

Fight for your whore, Greek; now for your whore,

Trojan–now for the cuff, the cuff!

Exeunt TROILUS and DIOMEDES fighting

Enter HECTOR

HECTOR.

What art thou, Greek? Art thou for Hector's match?

Art thou of blood and honour?

Who are you, Greek? Are you a match for Hector?

Do you have rank and honour?

THERSITES.

No, no-I am a rascal; a scurvy railing knave; a very

filthy rogue.

No, no–I am a rascal; a filthy whining knave; a very

dirty rogue.

HECTOR.

I do believe thee. Live.

Exit

I believe you. Live.

THERSITES.

God-a-mercy, that thou wilt believe me; but a plague

break thy neck for frighting me! What's become of the wenching

rogues? I think they have swallowed one another. I would laugh at

that miracle. Yet, in a sort, lechery eats itself. I'll seek

them.

Exit

Thank God, that you believed me; but I hope

you break your neck for frightening me! What's become of those lustful

rogues? I think they have swallowed each other up. I would laugh at

that miracle. But, in a way, lechery consumes itself. I'll look for them.

Enter DIOMEDES and A SERVANT

DIOMEDES.

Go, go, my servant, take thou Troilus' horse;

Present the fair steed to my lady Cressid.

Fellow, commend my service to her beauty;

Tell her I have chastis'd the amorous Troyan,

And am her knight by proof.

Go, go, my servant, take Troilus' horse;

give it to my lady Cressida.

Fellow, tell her I am the servant of her beauty;

tell her I have beaten the amorous Trojan,

and have proved that I am her knight.

SERVANT.

I go, my lord.

Exit

I'm going, my lord.

Enter AGAMEMNON

AGAMEMNON.

Renew, renew! The fierce Polydamus

Hath beat down Menon; bastard Margarelon

Hath Doreus prisoner,

And stands colossus-wise, waving his beam,

Upon the pashed corses of the kings

Epistrophus and Cedius. Polixenes is slain;

Amphimacus and Thoas deadly hurt;

Patroclus ta'en, or slain; and Palamedes

Sore hurt and bruis'd. The dreadful Sagittary

Appals our numbers. Haste we, Diomed,

To reinforcement, or we perish all.

Regroup, regroup! The fierce Polydamus

has beaten down Menon; bastard Margarelon

is holding Doreous prisoner;

and is standing like a colossus, waving his spear,

over the battered corpses of the Kings

Epistrophus and Cedius.Polixenes is slain;

Amphimacus and Thoas are mortally wounded;

Patroclus is captured or slain; and Palamedes