The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)

by William Shakespeare

  Help, someone! – Fine way to guard the night!

  Bell rings

  Who's that which rings the bell?--Diablo, ho!

  Who is ringing the bell? – Oh, damn!

  The town will rise: God's will, lieutenant, hold!

  The whole town will come out. By God, lieutenant, stop!

  You will be shamed for ever.

  You will be ruined forever.

  Re-enter OTHELLO and Attendants

  OTHELLO

  What is the matter here?

  What is the matter here.

  MONTANO

  'Zounds, I bleed still; I am hurt to the death.

  Oh I am bleeding! I am hurt to death.

  Faints

  OTHELLO

  Hold, for your lives!

  Stop, or your lives will be at stake!

  IAGO

  Hold, ho! Lieutenant,--sir--Montano,--gentlemen,--

  Stop! – Lieutenant – sir – Montano – men –

  Have you forgot all sense of place and duty?

  Have you all forgotten your sense of duty and honor?

  Hold! the general speaks to you; hold, hold, for shame!

  Stop! The general is speaking to you! Stop, how shameful!

  OTHELLO

  Why, how now, ho! from whence ariseth this?

  Why, how! How did this happen?

  Are we turn'd Turks, and to ourselves do that

  Have we become the Turks ourselves, and thus

  Which heaven hath forbid the Ottomites?

  Do what heaven stopped the Turks from doing to us?

  For Christian shame, put by this barbarous brawl:

  For the sake of Christianity stop this fighting:

  He that stirs next to carve for his own rage

  Whoever moves next to unleash his anger

  Holds his soul light; he dies upon his motion.

  Is risking his own life: he will die once he moves.

  Silence that dreadful bell: it frights the isle

  Someone stop that awful bell, it is frightening

  From her propriety. What is the matter, masters?

  The islanders. What happened here, sirs?

  Honest Iago, that look'st dead with grieving,

  Good Iago, you look exhausted and upset.

  Speak, who began this? on thy love, I charge thee.

  Speak up, who started this? I’m asking you out of love.

  IAGO

  I do not know: friends all but now, even now,

  I don’t know. We were all friends until now,

  In quarter, and in terms like bride and groom

  We were like bride and groom

  Devesting them for bed; and then, but now--

  Undressing for bed, and then, just now –

  As if some planet had unwitted men--

  As if the alignment of the planets had made them crazy –

  Swords out, and tilting one at other's breast,

  Swords came out, pointed at each other’s chest

  In opposition bloody. I cannot speak

  In order to fight. I can’t speak

  Any beginning to this peevish odds;

  To how this all began,

  And would in action glorious I had lost

  And I wish that in previous battles I had lost

  Those legs that brought me to a part of it!

  My legs so I wouldn’t have come to see this!

  OTHELLO

  How comes it, Michael, you are thus forgot?

  What happened, Michael, that you lost yourself?

  CASSIO

  I pray you, pardon me; I cannot speak.

  Please, forgive me. I cannot speak.

  OTHELLO

  Worthy Montano, you were wont be civil;

  Worthy Montano, you have been so polite.

  The gravity and stillness of your youth

  As a young man, your seriousness and calmness

  The world hath noted, and your name is great

  Was noted by the world, and your name is mentioned

  In mouths of wisest censure: what's the matter,

  By the wisest men. What happened

  That you unlace your reputation thus

  That you ruin your reputation like this

  And spend your rich opinion for the name

  And destroy these good estimations to become

  Of a night-brawler? give me answer to it.

  Someone who fights at night? Give me an answer.

  MONTANO

  Worthy Othello, I am hurt to danger:

  Worthy Othello, I am badly injured.

  Your officer, Iago, can inform you,--

  Your officer, Iago, can tell you –

  While I spare speech, which something now offends me,--

  I should save my breath, it hurts me to talk –

  Of all that I do know: nor know I aught

  He can tell you everything I know. I have done

  By me that's said or done amiss this night;

  Nothing wrong tonight,

  Unless self-charity be sometimes a vice,

  Unless it is wrong to look out for ourselves

  And to defend ourselves it be a sin

  And a sin to defend ourselves

  When violence assails us.

  Against attack.

  OTHELLO

  Now, by heaven,

  As God is my witness,

  My blood begins my safer guides to rule;

  I am beginning to lose my temper.

  And passion, having my best judgment collied,

  Passion is dirtying my sound judgment

  Assays to lead the way: if I once stir,

  And wants to be in charge of my decision making. If I move

  Or do but lift this arm, the best of you

  Or lift this arm, everyone

  Shall sink in my rebuke. Give me to know

  Will suffer at my hands. Tell me

  How this foul rout began, who set it on;

  How this fighting started, and who began it.

  And he that is approved in this offence,

  Whoever is proved the offender,

  Though he had twinn'd with me, both at a birth,

  Even if he were my twin at birth,

  Shall lose me. What! in a town of war,

  Shall lose my respect. Really! In a town already avoiding a war,

  Yet wild, the people's hearts brimful of fear,

  Where the people’s hearts are already scared,

  To manage private and domestic quarrel,

  You have created this private fight

  In night, and on the court and guard of safety!

  At night, when you were supposed to be on guard!

  'Tis monstrous. Iago, who began't?

  This is awful. Iago, who started it.

  MONTANO

  If partially affined, or leagued in office,

  If you speak from partiality or are in league with the offender

  Thou dost deliver more or less than truth,

  And thus do not speak the real truth,

  Thou art no soldier.

  You are no soldier.

  IAGO

  Touch me not so near:

  Do not say such things to me.

  I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth

  I would rather cut my tongue out of my mouth

  Than it should do offence to Michael Cassio;

  Than speak ill of Michael Cassio.

  Yet, I persuade myself, to speak the truth

  Yes, I believe that by telling the truth

  Shall nothing wrong him. Thus it is, general.

  I do not do anything wrong to him. So here it is, general.

  Montano and myself being in speech,

  Montano and I were talking,

  There comes a fellow crying out for help:

  And a fellow came crying out for help.

  And Cassio following him with determined sword,

  Cassio was following him with a sword,

  To e
xecute upon him. Sir, this gentleman

  Intent on executing him. Sir, this gentelman Montano

  Steps in to Cassio, and entreats his pause:

  Stepped in to stop Cassio,

  Myself the crying fellow did pursue,

  And I followed after the man crying out for help,

  Lest by his clamour--as it so fell out--

  So that his awful shouting

  The town might fall in fright: he, swift of foot,

  Would not terrify the town. He, being very fast,

  Outran my purpose; and I return'd the rather

  Outran me, and I came back

  For that I heard the clink and fall of swords,

  Hearing the sound of swordfighting

  And Cassio high in oath; which till to-night

  And Cassio swearing, which until tonight

  I ne'er might say before. When I came back--

  I have never heard before. When I returned –

  For this was brief--I found them close together,

  This was quick – I found them together

  At blow and thrust; even as again they were

  Fighting, just as they were

  When you yourself did part them.

  When you separated them.

  More of this matter cannot I report:

  I have nothing more to say

  But men are men; the best sometimes forget:

  Except that men are men, we forget this sometimes,

  Though Cassio did some little wrong to him,

  And though Cassio injured Montano,

  As men in rage strike those that wish them best,

  Striking out of rage at whoever is close no matter who they are or their intentions are,

  Yet surely Cassio, I believe, received

  I am also certain that Cassio received

  From him that fled some strange indignity,

  A cruel insult from the man who fled

  Which patience could not pass.

  Which even patience could not let pass.

  OTHELLO

  I know, Iago,

  I know, Iago,

  Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter,

  That your honest and love affect your judgment

  Making it light to Cassio. Cassio, I love thee

  And seek to lighten Cassio’s sin. Cassio, I love you,

  But never more be officer of mine.

  But you are no longer my officer.

  Re-enter DESDEMONA, attended

  Look, if my gentle love be not raised up!

  Look, you have woken my gentle love!

  I'll make thee an example.

  I will make an example out of you.

  DESDEMONA

  What's the matter?

  What happened?

  OTHELLO

  All's well now, sweeting; come away to bed.

  All is well, sweetheart. Come back to bed.

  Sir, for your hurts, myself will be your surgeon:

  Sir, for your injuries, I will make sure you are treated.

  Lead him off.

  Lead him away.

  To MONTANO, who is led off

  Iago, look with care about the town,

  Iago, go care for the townspeople

  And silence those whom this vile brawl distracted.

  And calm them whom were woken by this fight.

  Come, Desdemona: 'tis the soldiers' life

  Come Desdemona: it’s the soldier’s life

  To have their balmy slumbers waked with strife.

  To have their sleep interrupted by fighting.

  Exeunt all but IAGO and CASSIO

  IAGO

  What, are you hurt, lieutenant?

  Are you hurt, lieutenant?

  CASSIO

  Ay, past all surgery.

  Yes, past all recovery.

  IAGO

  Marry, heaven forbid!

  No, I hope not!

  CASSIO

  Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost

  Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lose

  my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of

  my reputation! I have lost the eternal part of

  myself, and what remains is bestial. My reputation,

  myself and only this animal side remains. My reputation,

  Iago, my reputation!

  Iago, my reputation!

  IAGO

  As I am an honest man, I thought you had received

  I honestly thought that you had received

  some bodily wound; there is more sense in that than

  a physical injury – that means much more than

  in reputation. Reputation is an idle and most false

  your reputation. Reputation is a lazy and fake quality

  imposition: oft got without merit, and lost without

  that others impose. Often it has no merit, and it can be lost without

  deserving: you have lost no reputation at all,

  warrant. You have lost no reputation

  unless you repute yourself such a loser. What, man!

  unless you think you have. What!

  there are ways to recover the general again: you

  There are many ways to get back on the general’s good side, right now

  are but now cast in his mood, a punishment more in

  you are dealing with a mood of his, but the punishment came from

  policy than in malice, even so as one would beat his

  policy, not from ill-will, just as someone would beat

  offenceless dog to affright an imperious lion: sue

  his dog to frighten off a lion. Go to him and ask,

  to him again, and he's yours.

  and he will change his mind.

  CASSIO

  I will rather sue to be despised than to deceive so

  I would rather ask him to hate me than to trick

  good a commander with so slight, so drunken, and so

  a good commander to allow a worthless, drunken,

  indiscreet an officer. Drunk? and speak parrot?

  stupid officer back. Drunk? Speaking nonsense?

  and squabble? swagger? swear? and discourse

  And swearing? Raving

  fustian with one's own shadow? O thou invisible

  At one’s own shadow? O invisible

  spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by,

  demon of wine, if you have no other name,

  let us call thee devil!

  i will call you devil!

  IAGO

  What was he that you followed with your sword? What

  Who was he whom you were chasing with your sword? What

  had he done to you?

  did he say to you?

  CASSIO

  I know not.

  I don’t know.

  IAGO

  Is't possible?

  Is that possible?

  CASSIO

  I remember a mass of things, but nothing distinctly;

  I remember a number of things, but nothing distinctly:

  a quarrel, but nothing wherefore. O God, that men

  a fight, but nothing else. O God, how awful that men

  should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away

  would put an enemy into their mouths through wine that steals

  their brains! that we should, with joy, pleasance

  their minds! How horrible that we should joyfully

  revel and applause, transform ourselves into beasts!

  party and thus transform ourselves into animals!

  IAGO

  Why, but you are now well enough: how came you thus

  You seem very sober now, how did you

  recovered?

  recover so quickly?

  CASSIO

  It hath pleased the devil drunkenness to give place

  The devil called drunkenness went away and gave his spot

  to the devil wrath; one unperfectness shows me

  to the de
vil called wrath. One vice opens up to

  another, to make me frankly despise myself.

  another, and makes me hate myself.

  IAGO

  Come, you are too severe a moraler: as the time,

  You are much to hard on yourself. Given the time.

  the place, and the condition of this country

  and your rank, and the condition of the island,

  stands, I could heartily wish this had not befallen;

  I of course wish this had not happened –

  but, since it is as it is, mend it for your own good.

  but since it has, try to work it for your own good.

  CASSIO

  I will ask him for my place again; he shall tell me

  If I ask him for my rank again he shall tell me

  I am a drunkard! Had I as many mouths as Hydra,

  that I am an alcoholic! Even if I had as many mouths as the Hydra of myth,

  such an answer would stop them all. To be now a

  an answer like that would quiet them all. First I was a

  sensible man, by and by a fool, and presently a

  reasonable person, and then I was a fool, and now I am

  beast! O strange! Every inordinate cup is

  an animal! How strange! Every cup of wine

  unblessed and the ingredient is a devil.

  is an evil curse of the devil.

  IAGO

  Come, come, good wine is a good familiar creature,

  Come now, wine is a good substance

  if it be well used: exclaim no more against it.

  if it is used appropriately. Stop speaking against it,

  And, good lieutenant, I think you think I love you.

  And, good lieutenant, I think you know that I am your friend.

  CASSIO

  I have well approved it, sir. I drunk!

  I know that well, sir. Me! A drunkard!

  IAGO

  You or any man living may be drunk! at a time, man.

  You or any man might become drunk at any time, my man.

  I'll tell you what you shall do. Our general's wife

  This is what you shall now do: Othello’s wife

  is now the general: may say so in this respect, for

  is his general, which I say because

  that he hath devoted and given up himself to the

  he has so devoted himself to her and given himself away

  contemplation, mark, and denotement of her parts and

  to thinking about and noting her bodyparts and