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Modern English
Nurse, where’s my daughter? Call her forth to me.
Nurse, where is my daughter? Ask her to come here.
Now, by my maidenhead, at twelve year old, I bade her come.
I swear by my virginity at age twelve, I asked her to come.
What, lamb! What ladybird! God forbid!
What, What is this! What is she doing! Heaven forbid!
Where’s this girl? What, Juliet!
Where is this girl? What, Juliet!
How now, who calls?
What now? Who is calling?
Your mother.
Your mother.
Madam, I am here. What is your will?
Madam, I am here. What do you want?
I will tell you what is the matter.
This is the matter.
Nurse, you may leave for a while. We must talk in private.
Nurse, give leave awhile, We must talk in secret.
Nurse - wait, come back.
Nurse, come back again,
I just remembered, you can listen to our conversation. You know my daughter is young now.
I have remember’d me, thou’s hear our counsel. Thou knowest my daughter’s of a pretty age.
Yes, I know her age to the hour.
Faith, I can tell her age unto an hour.
She is not yet fourteen.
She’s not fourteen.
I’ll vouch on fourteen of my teeth, but to be honest, I have only four - She is not fourteen.
I’ll lay fourteen of my teeth, And yet, to my teen be it spoken, I have but four, She is not fourteen.
How long is it until first day of August?
How long is it now To Lammas-tide?
Two weeks and few days.
A fortnight and odd days.
Even or odd, of all days in the year, Come Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen.
Counting all days in the year, She will be fourteen on the night of July 31st.
Susan and she,—God rest all Christian souls!— Were of an age.
Susan, my daughter and Juliet, - God rest all Christian souls - both were born that same day.
Well, Susan is with God; She was too good for me.
Well, Susan is with God now. She was too good for me.
But as I said, On Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen; That shall she, marry; I remember it well.
But as I said, on the night of July 31st, Juliet will turn fourteen. Yes, she will. I remember it well.
’Tis since the earthquake now eleven years; And she was wean’d,—I never shall forget it—,
It’s been eleven years since the earthquake. She stopped nursing from my breast on that very day. I will not forget it.
Of all the days of the year, upon that day: For I had then laid wormwood to my dug, Sitting in the sun under the dovehouse wall;
I had put some bitter wormwood on my breasts as I was sitting in the sun, under the wall of the dovehouse.
My lord and you were then at Mantua: Nay, I do bear a brain.
You and your husband were in Mantua. Oh God, what marvellous memory I have.
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!
But as I said, When Juliet tasted the wormwood on the nipple and found it bitter, she got angry.
Shake, quoth the dovehouse:’
That’s when the earthquake occured and the dovehouse started to shake.
twas no need, I trow, To bid me trudge.
There was no need to ask me to go out.
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;
It’s been eleven years now. She could stand by herself at that time. No, actually she could run and roam around all over the place.
For even the day before she broke her brow,
I also remember that she had got a cut on her forehead, a day before.
And then my husband,—God be with his soul! A was a merry man,—took up the child:
And then my husband - May God rest his soul! - picked her up.
‘Yea,’quoth he,‘dost thou fall upon thy face? Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit; Wilt thou not, Jule?’
He said to her - "Did you fall on your face?, You will fall backwards when you grow up. Won’t you, Jule?"
and, by my holidame, The pretty wretch left crying, and said‘Ay’.
And I swear, the little thing stopped crying and said, "Yes".
To see now how a jest shall come about. I warrant, and I should live a thousand years, I never should forget it.
Oh! To watch a jokes come true, nothing like it. I will not forget it even if I live for a thousand years.
‘Wilt thou not, Jule?’quoth he; And, pretty fool, it stinted, and said‘Ay.’
Won’t you, Jule, he said. And the pretty thing stopped crying and said, "Yes".
Enough of this; I pray thee hold thy peace.
Enough of this. Be quiet now.
Yes, madam, yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying, and say‘Ay’;
Yes, madam, but I cannot help myself but laugh when I think of the instance when she stopped crying and said "Yes".
And yet I warrant it had upon it brow A bump as big as a young cockerel’s stone; A perilous knock, and it cried bitterly.
And I swear that she had a big bump on her forehead as big as the rooster’s testicle. It was a painful bruise, and she was crying a lot.
‘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’.
"Yes", said my husband, "Did you fall on your face? You will fall backward when you become wise. Won’t you, Jule?" And she stopped crying and said, "Yes".
And stint thou too, I pray thee, Nurse, say I.
And you stop now, I request you, Nurse.
Peace, I have done.
Peace, I will stop talking now.
God mark thee to his grace
May God provide his grace to you.
Thou wast the prettiest babe that e’er I nurs’d:
You were the prettiest baby that I ever nursed.
And I might live to see thee married once, I have my wish.
And If I live to see you get married someday, all my wishes will come true.
Marry, that marry is the very theme I came to talk of.
Well, marriage is what I have come here to discuss.
Tell me, daughter Juliet, How stands your disposition to be married?
Tell me, daughter Juliet, What do you think about getting married?
It is an honour that I dream not of.
It is an honour that I have not thought of.
An honour!
"An honor!"
Were not I thine only nurse, I would say thou hadst suck’d wisdom from thy teat.
If I were not the only nurse you have had, I would say, you sucked wisdom from the breasts that fed you.
Well, think of marriage now: younger than you,
Well, you should start thinking of marriage now.
Here in Verona, ladies of esteem, Are made already mothers.
In Verona, woman younger than you, have become mothers already.
By my count I was your mother much upon these years That you are now a maid.
I was already your mother when I was your age, while you still remain a virgin.
Thus, then, in brief; The valiant Paris seeks you for his love.
To be brief, the valiant Paris wants to marry you.
A man, young lady!
What a man, young lady!
Lady, such a man As all the world—why he’s a man of wax.
Lady, he is a man as great as any other in the world, as if he he were sculpted from the wax.
Verona’s summer hath not such a flower.
Verona does not have a flower as fine as him.
Nay, he’s a flower, in faith a very flower.
He is a fine flower, absolutely, a flower.
What say you, can you love the gentleman?
What do you say? Can you love this gentleman?
This night you shall behold him at our feast; Read o’er the volume of young Paris’face, And find delight writ there with beauty’s pen.
Tonight, he will be coming for the feast. Read the face of young Paris, and find pleasure in his beauty.
Examine every married lineament, 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 each and every line on his face and see how they come together to make him handsome. And if his face can’t content you, find the love in his eyes.
This precious book of love, this unbound lover, To beautify him, only lacks a cover:
This precious man full of love, this unbound lover, only lacks a wife to become a perfect man.
The fish lives in the sea; and’tis much pride For fair without the fair within to hide.
Just like a fish does not hide in the sea; it’s wrong for a beauty like you to hide herself from a handsome man like him.
That book in many’s eyes doth share the glory, That in gold clasps locks in the golden story;
Many think that he is handsome and whoever becomes his bride would be equally admired.
So shall you share all that he doth possess, By having him, making yourself no less.
You would share all that he possess, and by having him, you would lose nothing.
No less, nay bigger. Women grow by men.
Not less! only more. Men make women bigger, when they get you pregnant.
Speak briefly, can you like of Paris’love?
Be precise and tell me, can you love Paris?
I’ll look to like, if looking liking move:
I will look at him with the intent of liking him, if what I see is likable.
But no more deep will I endart mine eye Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.
But I will not let myself fall for him any more than your permission allows me.
Madam, the guests are come, supper served up, you called, my young lady asked for,
Madam, the guests are here, supper is served, and you have been called and my young lady, Juliet, is also called for.
the Nurse cursed in the pantry,
The Nurse in the pantry is cursed
and everything in extremity. I must hence to wait, I beseech you follow straight.
Everything is out of control. I must rush now to serve the guests. Please follow right after me.
We follow thee.
We will follow you.
Juliet, the County stays.
Juliet, Paris is waiting for you.
Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy days.
Go, girl and look for the man who will give you happy nights at the end of happy days.