Shakespeare in modern English
Whole plays, scene by scene: the original text and a plain modern English translation side by side. Free and printable — no account, no free-trial wall, no locked scenes. A free alternative to the paid side-by-side guides.
And because this site is a translator first, you can paste any line — from any play, any edition, any handout — and get it in modern English.
Macbeth
28 scenesA victorious general hears a prophecy that he will be king — and with his wife's help makes it come true, one murder at a time. Shakespeare's shortest, darkest tragedy.
Read it in modern EnglishRomeo and Juliet
26 scenesTwo teenagers from feuding families fall in love, marry in secret, and have five days. The most-taught play in English — and the most misquoted.
Read it in modern EnglishJulius Caesar
18 scenesRome's most powerful man is murdered by his closest friends in the name of the republic — and the funeral speech that follows turns the city against them. The play everyone quotes without knowing it.
Read it in modern EnglishHamlet
20 scenesA prince is told by his father's ghost that his uncle murdered him — and spends the play deciding whether to believe it, and whether to act. The most famous play in English.
Read it in modern EnglishA Midsummer Night's Dream
9 scenesFour young lovers run into a wood, a fairy king meddles with the wrong eyes, and a weaver is given a donkey's head. Shakespeare's most-performed comedy.
Read it in modern EnglishThe Tempest
9 scenesAn exiled duke with a book of magic raises a storm to wreck his enemies on his island — then has to decide whether to take revenge or forgive. Probably Shakespeare's last play alone.
Read it in modern EnglishThe Sonnets
10 translatedSonnet 18, 116, 130 and more — each with a line-by-line modern version and what the famous lines actually mean.
Read the sonnetsQuestions students ask
- Is this really free?
- Yes — every scene of every play here is free to read, with the original text and the modern English translation side by side. No account, no free-trial wall, no page limit. It prints cleanly too.
- Can it translate a line that isn't in these plays?
- Yes. Paste any Shakespeare passage — any play, any sonnet, any edition's wording — into the translator box and it renders it in modern English. That works for lines from class handouts and editions that differ from ours.
- Are these the same translations as other study guides?
- No — our modern English translations are written in-house from the original public-domain text. The original text follows the standard Globe edition.
- Is this like No Fear Shakespeare?
- It's the same side-by-side idea — original text next to plain modern English — but every scene here is free, with no subscription wall, and each play can be downloaded as a PDF. We're not affiliated with SparkNotes; our translations are written in-house.
Reading these for class? The free Shakespearean English course teaches thou/thee, the do-less questions, and the meter in 18 short lessons — and the Shakespearean English translator handles anything you paste.