Romeo and Juliet — Act 1, Scene 3in modern English, side by side
Room in Capulet’s House · Lady Capulet, Nurse, Juliet, Servant, Chorus
In the Capulet household, Lady Capulet and the Nurse call for Juliet to discuss Paris's marriage proposal; after the Nurse's long, rambling story about Juliet as a toddler, Lady Capulet urges Juliet to consider Paris at tonight's feast, and Juliet cautiously agrees only to look, not to commit her heart.
Confused by a different line? Paste any Shakespeare — any play, any edition — and get it in modern English.
Matching colours pair each sentence with its translation. Hover (or tap) any word to light up the words that match it on the other side — archaic words show their meaning.
Enter Lady Capulet and Nurse
Lady Capulet
Nurse, where’s my daughter?
Nurse, where's my daughter?
Call her forth to me.
Call her to me.
Nurse
Now, by my maidenhead, at twelve year old,
I bade her come.
I swear on my virginity, back when I was twelve — I already told her to come.
What, lamb! What ladybird!
What, lamb! What ladybird!
God forbid! Where’s this girl?
God forbid — where is this girl?
What, Juliet!
Juliet!
Enter Juliet
Juliet
How now, who calls?5
Yes, who's calling?
Nurse
Your mother.
Your mother.
Juliet
Madam, I am here.
Mother, I'm here.
What is your will?
What do you need?
Lady Capulet
This is the matter.
Here's the matter.
Nurse, give leave awhile,
We must talk in secret.
Nurse, leave us alone for a moment — we need to talk privately.
Nurse, come back again,
I have remember’d me, thou’s hear our counsel.10
Actually, Nurse, come back — I remember now, you should hear this too.
Thou knowest my daughter’s of a pretty age.
You know my daughter's about the right age.
Nurse
Faith, I can tell her age unto an hour.
Honestly, I could tell you her age down to the hour.
Lady Capulet
She’s not fourteen.
She's not fourteen yet.
Nurse
I’ll lay fourteen of my teeth,
And yet, to my teen be it spoken, I have but four,15
She is not fourteen.
I'd bet fourteen of my teeth on it — though, sadly, I've only got four left — that she's not fourteen.
How long is it now
To Lammas-tide?
How long until Lammastide?
Lady Capulet
A fortnight and odd days.
About two weeks and a few days.
Nurse
Even or odd, of all days in the year,
Come Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen.20
Whether it's even or odd days, out of all the days of the year, she'll turn fourteen on Lammas Eve night.
Susan and she,—God rest all Christian souls!—
Were of an age.
Susan and she — God rest all Christian souls — were the same age.
Well, Susan is with God;
She was too good for me.
Well, Susan's with God now; she was too good for this world, honestly.
But as I said,
On Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen;
That shall she, marry; I remember it well.25
But as I said, on Lammas Eve night she'll be fourteen — that she will, I swear it, I remember it well.
’Tis since the earthquake now eleven years;
And she was wean’d,—I never shall forget it—,
Of all the days of the year, upon that day:
It's been eleven years now since the earthquake, and that was the very day she was weaned — I'll never forget it, of all the days of the year.
For I had then laid wormwood to my dug,
Sitting in the sun under the dovehouse wall;30
My lord and you were then at Mantua:
I'd put bitter wormwood on my nipple that day, sitting in the sun by the dovehouse wall — you and my lord were away in Mantua at the time.
Nay, I do bear a brain.
Oh, I remember things well!
But as I said,
When it did taste the wormwood on the nipple
Of my dug and felt it bitter, pretty fool,
To see it tetchy, and fall out with the dug!35
But as I was saying, when she tasted that bitter wormwood on my nipple and felt how nasty it was, the pretty little fool got so cross and pulled away from the breast!
Shake, quoth the dovehouse: ’twas no need, I trow,
To bid me trudge.
Right then the dovehouse shook — believe me, I didn't need any better sign to get moving.
And since that time it is eleven years;
For then she could stand alone; nay, by th’rood
She could have run and waddled all about;40
And it's been eleven years since then, because by that point she could stand on her own — she could even run and toddle all around, I swear.
For even the day before she broke her brow,
And then my husband,—God be with his soul!
A was a merry man,—took up the child:
In fact the very day before that, she'd fallen and cut her forehead, and my husband — God rest his soul, he was such a funny man — picked her up
‘Yea,’ quoth he, ‘dost thou fall upon thy face?
Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit;45
Wilt thou not, Jule?’ and, by my holidame,
The pretty wretch left crying, and said ‘Ay’.
and said, 'What, falling on your face? You'll learn to fall backward once you're older and wiser — won't you, Jule?' And I swear, the sweet little thing stopped crying and said 'Yes.'
To see now how a jest shall come about.
It's funny to see how a joke actually comes true.
I warrant, and I should live a thousand years,
I never should forget it.50
I promise you, if I live a thousand years, I'll never forget it.
‘Wilt thou not, Jule?’ quoth he;50
And, pretty fool, it stinted, and said ‘Ay.’
'Won't you, Jule?' he said, and the sweet little thing stopped crying and said 'Yes.'
Lady Capulet
Enough of this; I pray thee hold thy peace.
That's enough of that — please, be quiet now.
Nurse
Yes, madam, yet I cannot choose but laugh,
To think it should leave crying, and say ‘Ay’;
Yes, madam, but I can't help laughing to think of her stopping her crying to say 'Yes.'
And yet I warrant it had upon it brow55
A bump as big as a young cockerel’s stone;
A perilous knock, and it cried bitterly.
And yet I swear she had a bump on her forehead as big as a young rooster's testicle — a nasty knock, and she cried hard over it.
‘Yea,’ quoth my husband, ‘fall’st upon thy face?
Thou wilt fall backward when thou comest to age;
Wilt thou not, Jule?’ it stinted, and said ‘Ay’.60
'Yes,' my husband said, 'falling on your face? You'll learn to fall backward once you're grown — won't you, Jule?' And she stopped crying and said 'Yes.'
Juliet
And stint thou too, I pray thee, Nurse, say I.
And you can stop too, please, Nurse — that's what I say.
Nurse
Peace, I have done.
All right, I'm done.
God mark thee to his grace
Thou wast the prettiest babe that e’er I nurs’d:
God bless you with his grace — you were the prettiest baby I ever raised.
And I might live to see thee married once, I have my wish.
If I live to see you married one day, I'll have gotten my wish.
Lady Capulet
Marry, that marry is the very theme65
I came to talk of.
Well — marriage is exactly the subject I came to discuss.
Tell me, daughter Juliet,
How stands your disposition to be married?
Tell me, daughter Juliet, how do you feel about getting married?
Juliet
It is an honour that I dream not of.
It's an honor I haven't even thought about.
Nurse
An honour!
An honor!
Were not I thine only nurse,
I would say thou hadst suck’d wisdom from thy teat.70
If I weren't your only nurse, I'd say you'd sucked wisdom straight from my breast.
Lady Capulet
Well, think of marriage now: younger than you,
Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,
Are made already mothers.
Well, think about marriage now — girls younger than you, right here in Verona, women of good standing, are already mothers.
By my count
I was your mother much upon these years
That you are now a maid.75
As I recall, I was your mother at about the age you are now, still unmarried.
Thus, then, in brief;75
The valiant Paris seeks you for his love.
So, to put it simply: the noble Paris wants your love.
Nurse
A man, young lady!
A man, young lady!
Lady, such a man
As all the world—why he’s a man of wax.
Such a man as — well, he's practically a wax figure of perfection.
Lady Capulet
Verona’s summer hath not such a flower.
Verona's whole summer doesn't have a finer flower than him.
Nurse
Nay, he’s a flower, in faith a very flower.80
He truly is a flower — a real flower, honestly.
Lady Capulet
What say you, can you love the gentleman?
What do you say — could you love this gentleman?
This night you shall behold him at our feast;
You'll see him tonight at our feast.
Read o’er the volume of young Paris’ face,
And find delight writ there with beauty’s pen.
Study young Paris's face like a book, and find delight written there by beauty's own pen.
Examine every married lineament,85
And see how one another lends content;
And what obscur’d in this fair volume lies,
Find written in the margent of his eyes.
Examine every one of his features, and see how well they all complement each other, and whatever seems unclear in that handsome face, you'll find explained in his eyes.
This precious book of love, this unbound lover,
To beautify him, only lacks a cover:90
This fine, unbound book of a man only lacks a cover to make him complete.
The fish lives in the sea; and ’tis much pride
For fair without the fair within to hide.
Fish live in the sea, and it's a point of pride when outward beauty matches the beauty within.
That book in many’s eyes doth share the glory,
That in gold clasps locks in the golden story;
So shall you share all that he doth possess,95
By having him, making yourself no less.
That book earns praise from many eyes when its golden clasps lock in an equally golden story — and so, by marrying him, you'll share in everything he has, without losing anything of your own.
Nurse
No less, nay bigger.
No less — bigger, if anything.
Women grow by men.
Women grow through men.
Lady Capulet
Speak briefly, can you like of Paris’ love?
In short — can you imagine loving Paris?
Juliet
I’ll look to like, if looking liking move:
I'll consider liking him, if merely looking can lead to liking.
But no more deep will I endart mine eye100
Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.
But I won't let my eyes go any further than what you approve of.
Enter a Servant
Servant
Madam, the guests are come, supper served up, you called, my young lady
asked for, the Nurse cursed in the pantry, and everything in extremity.
Madam, the guests have arrived, supper's served, you're being called for, my young lady's being asked after, the Nurse is being cursed at in the pantry, and everything's in an uproar.
I must hence to wait, I beseech you follow straight.
I have to go help — please, follow right away.
Lady Capulet
We follow thee.105
We're coming.
_Exit Servant._
Lady Capulet
Juliet, the County stays.
Juliet, the Count is waiting.
Nurse
Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy days.
Go on, girl — go find happy nights to match your happy days.
_Exeunt._
Confused by a different line? Paste any Shakespeare — any play, any edition — and get it in modern English.
Studying the language itself? Our Shakespearean English course teaches thou/thee, the verbs, and the meter — free through Unit 2. Or try the Shakespearean English translator.
Free side-by-side translation — polytranslator.com/shakespeare/romeo-and-juliet/act-1-scene-3