Their only love
sprung from
their only hate.
Two adolescents, on opposite sides in an age-old feud, find love among hatred and violence.
This complete, line-by-line translation makes the language of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet contemporary while preserving the metrical rhythm, complexity, and poetic qualities of the original. The aim is to capture both sound and sense without the need for glosses or notes—to use contemporary language without simplifying or modernizing the play in any other way. Readers experience this tale of star-crossed lovers with the challenge, comprehension, and delight of audiences 400 years ago—the way Shakespeare intended.
See for yourself. Take a peek at the Romeo and Juliet excerpt below.
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Romeo and Juliet Translation Excerpt
The excerpt below shows the care taken to reproduce Shakespeare's verse in the Enjoy Shakespeare translations. The opening 36 lines of this scene are an aubade (pronounced "oh BAD" or "oh BAWD"), a minor verse form from the Middle Ages where lovers discuss parting at dawn. (See this Wikipedia article for more information on aubades.)
Scene Five. Juliet’s Balcony, Above a Garden
[Enter ROMEO and JULIET]
Juliet
You wish to go? It still is not near day.
It was the nightingale, and not the lark,
That pierced the fretful hollow of your ear.
That pomegranate tree’s her nightly perch.
Believe me, love, it was the nightingale.
Romeo
It was the lark, the herald of the morn,
No nightingale. Look, love, malicious streaks,
They lace the clouds dispersing in the east.
Night’s candles are burnt out, and jovial day
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.
I must be gone and live, or stay and die.
Juliet
That light is not daylight, I know it’s so.
It is some meteor the sun exhaled
To be for you tonight a torch-bearer
And lead you on your way to Mantua.
Stay longer then, you do not need to go.
Romeo
Let me be seized, let me be put to death.
I am content, if you wish it to be.
I’ll say that gray is not the morning’s eye,
It’s just the pale reflection of the moon.
And that’s no lark whose notes reverb against
The arching sky so high above our heads.
The wish to stay exceeds the will to go.
Come, death, and welcome! Juliet wants it so.
How is my sweet? Let’s talk? It is not day.
Juliet
It is, it is! Be quick, now go away!
It is the lark that sings so out of tune,
Discordant strains and jarring notes too sharp.
Some say the lark can intermingle tunes.
This one does not, for she’s not mingling us.
Some say the lark and loathsome toad swap eyes.
I wish that they’d exchange their voices too,
For arm from arm we’re scattered by the day.
“The Hunt is On”, it calls, and you’re away.
O, now be gone. More light and light it grows.
Romeo
More light and light—then darker are our woes!
What is a Verse Translation?
A verse translation maintains as closely as possible the rhythm and line length of the original work. Shakespeare's original lines from Twelfth Night and the ENJOY SHAKESPEARE verse translation are written in a kind of verse meter called iambic pentameter, or blank verse.*
Shakespeare’s Original Iambic Pentameter Lines
There is a fair behavior in thee, captain;
And though that nature with a beauteous wall
Doth oft close in pollution, yet of thee
I will believe though has a mind that suits
With this thy fair and outward character.
—Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 2
ENJOY SHAKESPEARE Verse Translation
I sense a decent man inside you, captain.
And although nature often hides what's foul
Behind a lovely wall, I can have faith
That you, sir, have a mind that matches well
This fair and outward character I see.
Prose translations, on the other hand, focus on capturing the literal meaning, without concern for the rhythm of the original. You will not sense a meter developing, and you will not feel like you are reading Shakespeare.
Prose Translation
You appear to be a decent person, captain, and although nature may hide inner corruption behind a beautiful exterior, I believe that you have a mind the matches your pleasant demeanor.
"Dumbed Down" Prose Translation
Viola said, “You seem to be a decent man, captain. Although awful people can seem nice, I believe that your pleasant behavior means you are nice inside too.”
* For more information on Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter, see “Appendix 1: How Iambic Pentameter Works” in Twelfth Night: A Verse Translation in English. For a brief description try this Wikipedia link. Here are two more extensive descriptions of Shakespeare's meter—"Scansion Guide" and "Teaching Meter" at the Interactive Shakespeare Project at the College of the Holy Cross Theater Department.
The ENJOY SHAKESPEARE translations recreate the rhythm, pace, and power of the original plays with all verse passages, songs, and rhymes painstakingly recast in contemporary English.
- Complete, line-by-line translations—in verse!
- Verse, songs, and rhymes meticulously recast.
- Accurate and authentic iambic pentameter.
- Tone, complexity, and poetic devices preserved.
- No "dumbing down."
- Uncluttered layout for comfortable reading.
- Ready for theatrical perfomance.
