The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (996 page)

Re-enter EMILIA

You, you, ay, you!

You, yes, you!

We have done our course; there's money for your pains:

We have finished. Here is money for your work.

I pray you, turn the key and keep our counsel.

Please, lock the door and keep silent about our conversation.

Exit

EMILIA

Alas, what does this gentleman conceive?

What is Othello thinking?

How do you, madam? how do you, my good lady?

Madam, how are you, my lady?

DESDEMONA

'Faith, half asleep.

I am dazed.

EMILIA

Good madam, what's the matter with my lord?

O madam, what is the matter with Othello?

DESDEMONA

With who?

With who?

EMILIA

Why, with my lord, madam.

With your lord, madam.

DESDEMONA

Who is thy lord?

Who is my lord?

EMILIA

He that is yours, sweet lady.

He that belongs to you, sweet lady.

DESDEMONA

I have none: do not talk to me, Emilia;

I own no one. Don’t talk to me, Emilia.

I cannot weep; nor answer have I none,

I can’t cry and I have no answers

But what should go by water. Prithee, tonight

Except for my tears. Please, tonight

Lay on my bed my wedding sheets: remember;

Make my bed with the wedding sheets. Do this

And call thy husband hither.

And call for my husband.

EMILIA

Here's a change indeed!

This is a strange change!

Exit

DESDEMONA

'Tis meet I should be used so, very meet.

It must be fair for him to treat me like this.

How have I been behaved, that he might stick

How have I acted that he might complain

The small'st opinion on my least misuse?

About even the smallest problem with me?

Re-enter EMILIA with IAGO

IAGO

What is your pleasure, madam?

What would you like, madam?

How is't with you?

How are you?

DESDEMONA

I cannot tell. Those that do teach young babes

I don’t know. Parents teach children

Do it with gentle means and easy tasks:

Gently, with easy suggestions.

He might have chid me so; for, in good faith,

He could have treated me like that, for honestly

I am a child to chiding.

I am only a child to being upbraided.

IAGO

What's the matter, lady?

What is the matter, lady?

EMILIA

Alas, Iago, my lord hath so bewhored her.

Iago, Othello has claimed she is a whore.

Thrown such despite and heavy terms upon her,

He has called her such awful names and said such awful things

As true hearts cannot bear.

For hearts to try to bear.

DESDEMONA

Am I that name, Iago?

Am I what he says, Iago?

IAGO

What name, fair lady?

And what is that, fair lady?

DESDEMONA

Such as she says my lord did say I was.

The name she says he called me.

EMILIA

He call'd her whore: a beggar in his drink

He called her a whore. A poor drunkard

Could not have laid such terms upon his callat.

Could not have been so mean to his woman.

IAGO

Why did he so?

Why did he say this?

DESDEMONA

I do not know; I am sure I am none such.

I don’t know. I am sure I am not one.

IAGO

Do not weep, do not weep. Alas the day!

Don’t cry, don’t cry. O awful day!

EMILIA

Hath she forsook so many noble matches,

She spurned so many good matches with noble men,

Her father and her country and her friends,

As well as her father, country, and friends,

To be call'd whore? would it not make one weep?

All to be called a whore? Isn’t that enough to make one cry?

DESDEMONA

It is my wretched fortune.

It is my poor luck.

IAGO

Beshrew him for't!

Well curse him for saying it!

How comes this trick upon him?

How did he get such an idea?

DESDEMONA

Nay, heaven doth know.

Only God knows.

EMILIA

I will be hang'd, if some eternal villain,

I swear on my life that some villain,

Some busy and insinuating rogue,

Some meddling and tricky man,

Some cogging, cozening slave, to get some office,

Some lying slave, all for self-gain,

Have not devised this slander; I'll be hang'd else.

Made up this slanderous falsehood. I swear on my life.

IAGO

Fie, there is no such man; it is impossible.

No, no such person exists. That’s impossible.

DESDEMONA

If any such there be, heaven pardon him!

If there is, may heaven forgive him!

EMILIA

A halter pardon him! and hell gnaw his bones!

A hangman’s noose will forgive him! And may hell have his body!

Why should he call her whore? who keeps her company?

Why would he call her a whore? Who spends time with her?

What place? what time? what form? what likelihood?

Where? When? How?

The Moor's abused by some most villanous knave,

The Moor has been tricked by a villainous enemy,

Some base notorious knave, some scurvy fellow.

A notorious criminal, some evil fellow.

O heaven, that such companions thou'ldst unfold,

O heaven, I wish we could discover who these people are

And put in every honest hand a whip

And give every honest man a whip

To lash the rascals naked through the world

So they could beat these rascals everywhere they go,

Even from the east to the west!

Across the whole world!

IAGO

Speak within door.

Speak quietly.

EMILIA

O, fie upon them! Some such squire he was

O curses on them! It;s the same bastard

That turn'd your wit the seamy side without,

Who changed your mind to the wrong side

And made you to suspect me with the Moor.

And made you think I slept with the Moor.

IAGO

You are a fool; go to.

You fool, go away.

DESDEMONA

O good Iago,

O Iago,

What shall I do to win my lord again?

What can I do to win back Othello?

Good friend, go to him; for, by this light of heaven,

Good friend, go to him. By the sun above,

I know not how I lost him. Here I kneel:

I don’t know how I lost him. I’m begging you:

If e'er my will did trespass 'gainst his love,

If I ever wrong him or his love for me,

Either in discourse of thought or actual deed,

Either in what I thought or did,

Or that mine eyes, mine ears, or any sense,

Or if my eyes, ears, or anything about me

Delighted them in any other form;

Took pleasure in someone else,

Or that I do not yet, and ever did,

Or that I do not and have not

And ever will--though he do shake me off

And never will – even though he might

To beggarly divorcement--love him dearly,

Divorce me and make me poor – love him fully,

Comfort forswear me! Unkindness may do much;

Than I hope I never have comfort! Being mean can do a lot,

And his unkindness may defeat my life,

And his meanness might end my life,

But never taint my love. I cannot say 'whore:'

But it will never ruin my love. I cannot say “whore,”

It does abhor me now I speak the word;

It disgusts me to even say the word.

To do the act that might the addition earn

To do the act that would gain me that title –

Not the world's mass of vanity could make me.

I wouldn’t do it for all the fame in the world.

IAGO

I pray you, be content; 'tis but his humour:

Please, be happy. This is only a mood,

The business of the state does him offence,

And the state business is angering him,

And he does chide with you.

He is only taking it out on you.

DESDEMONA

If 'twere no other--

If that’s all it is–

IAGO

'Tis but so, I warrant.

It is, I promise.

Trumpets within

Hark, how these instruments summon to supper!

Listen! The trumpets are calling out for dinner.

The messengers of Venice stay the meat;

The messengers from Venice are waiting to eat.

Go in, and weep not; all things shall be well.

Go to them, do not cry, and everything will be alright.

Exeunt DESDEMONA and EMILIA

Enter RODERIGO

How now, Roderigo!

Hello Roderigo!

RODERIGO

I do not find that thou dealest justly with me.

You are not being fair with me.

IAGO

What in the contrary?

Why do you say that?

RODERIGO

Every day thou daffest me with some device, Iago;

Every day you mess with me somehow, Iago,

and rather, as it seems to me now, keepest from me

and now, it seems to me, you keep me from

all conveniency than suppliest me with the least

making any advantage that would give me

advantage of hope. I will indeed no longer endure

the slightest hope. I will not put up with it any longer

it, nor am I yet persuaded to put up in peace what

and I am not persuaded to just accept what

already I have foolishly suffered.

I have already suffered.

IAGO

Will you hear me, Roderigo?

Will you hear me out, Roderigo?

RODERIGO

'Faith, I have heard too much, for your words and

I have already listened to you too much. Your words

performances are no kin together.

and actions do not fit together.

IAGO

You charge me most unjustly.

You charge me wrongly.

RODERIGO

With nought but truth. I have wasted myself out of

I charge you only with the truth. I have exhausted

my means. The jewels you have had from me to