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.
Confused by a different line? Paste any Shakespeare — any play, any edition — 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 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 sonnetsReading 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.