Shakespeare Translations
Buy the Paperback at Amazon.com
Kindle eBooks
King Lear: A Verse Translation
Excerpt
In this excerpt from Act One , Shakespeare opened the scene with the characters speaking prose. When Lear enters, Shakespeare switches to blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter). The scene ends with Regan and Goneril using prose.
The Enjoy Shakespeare translations respect Shakespeare's choices and retain the basic line structure.
from Act One
Scene One. A Room of State in Lear’s Palace
[Enter KENT, GLOUCESTER, and EDMUND]
KENT (Earl of Kent, follower of Lear)
I thought the King favored the Duke of Albany more than Cornwall.
GLOUCESTER (Earl of Gloucester)
It always seemed so to us, but now with this division of the kingdom, it’s not clear which Duke he values most, for their portions are so carefully weighed that the closest scrutiny reveals no advantage in either share.
The scene starts
in prose
KENT
Isn’t this your son, my lord?
GLOUCESTER
His parentage, sir, has been at my expense. I’ve blushed so often in acknowledging him that I’m immune to it.
KENT
I had no conception.
GLOUCESTER
Sir, this young fellow’s mother surely did, at which point her womb grew round, and had indeed, sir, a son for her cradle before she had a husband for her bed. Do you detect a sin?
KENT
I do not wish a sin undone when its outcome seems so fit.
GLOUCESTER
I also have a legitimate son, sir, a year or so older than this one, whose value in my account is no higher. This young chap came somewhat impertinently into the world before he was sent for, yet his mother was a beauty, there was good sport in making him, and so the dear bastard must be acknowledged. Do you know this noble gentleman, Edmund?
EDMUND (illegitimate son of Gloucester)
No, my lord.
GLOUCESTER
My Lord of Kent. Remember him hereafter as my honored friend.
EDMUND
I offer my respect to your lordship.
KENT
I owe you my friendship and beg to know you better.
EDMUND
Sir, I’ll make myself deserving of it.
GLOUCESTER
He has been away for nine years, and away he shall go again. [sound of a trumpet] The king is coming.
[Enter LEAR, CORNWALL, ALBANY, GONERIL, REGAN, CORDELIA, and ATTENDANTS]
LEAR (King of Britain)
Bring in the lords of France and Burgundy, Gloucester.
GLOUCESTER
I shall, my liege.
[Exit GLOUCESTER and EDMUND]
The language shifts
to blank verse
LEAR
Meanwhile the murkier details of my plan.
Give me the map there. Note that I’ve divided
My kingdom into thirds: my firm intent’s
To shed all cares and duties in old age,
And pass them on to younger powers, while I,
Unburdened, crawl toward death. My sons-in-law,
You, Cornwall, and my no less loving Albany
I am determined to proclaim this hour
Each daughters’ dowry, so that future strife
May now be sorted out.
These two great princes, France and Burgundy,
Fine rivals for my youngest daughter’s love,
Have in this court paid long and amorous visits,
And now are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters—
Since now I will divest myself of rule,
Title to territory, cares of state—
Which of you three should I say loves me most
So I can then extend my largest bounty
To where the claim’s both natural and merited?
Goneril, my eldest-born, speak first.
GONERIL (eldest daughter of Lear)
Sir, my love for you is more than words can wield,
Dearer than eyesight, space to live, and freedom,
Beyond what is appraised as rich or rare,
No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honor;
As much as child can give or father find;
A love that makes voice poor and speech inept:
Beyond all measure and compare I love you.
CORDELIA (youngest daughter of Lear)
[aside] What should Cordelia say? Love, and be silent.
LEAR
All of these regions, from this line to that,
With shady forests and with fertile plains,
With plenteous rivers and extensive fields,
I leave to you. To yours and Albany’s offspring
For all eternity. My second daughter,
My dearest Regan, wife to Cornwall, speak.
REGAN (daughter of Lear)
I’m made of that same fabric as my sister,
So price me at her worth. In my true heart
I too have filed this deed of love she’s drawn;
Only she falls too short, in that I see
Myself an enemy even to those joys
That carefully balanced sensibilities
Allow, and find my happiness derives
Alone from love for you.
CORDELIA
[aside] Next poor Cordelia!
But maybe not; since, I am sure, my love’s
More weighty than my tongue.
LEAR
For you and for your progeny forever
Remains this ample third of my fair kingdom,
No less in space, in value, and in pleasures
Than that bequeathed to Goneril. Now, my joy,
Though last but not the least, to whose young love
The vines of France and milk of Burgundy
Strive to be linked, what can you say to gain
A third more opulent than your sisters? Speak.
CORDELIA
Nothing, my lord.
LEAR
Nothing?
CORDELIA
Nothing.
LEAR
Nothing can come of nothing. Speak again.
CORDELIA
Unhappy though it makes me, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth. I love as much
As duty can demand—no more, no less.
LEAR
Come now, Cordelia? Add more to your speech,
Or your endowment is at risk.
CORDELIA
My lord,
You’ve fathered, raised, and loved me. In return,
I’ve been as dutiful as is expected,
Obeyed you, loved you, and so honored you.
Why have my sisters wed if all their love
Is owed to you? It’s likely, when I wed,
The lord whose hand receives my vows will carry
Half my love with him, half my care and duty:
I’m sure I’ll never marry like my sisters,
To only love my father.
LEAR
Your heart agrees with this?
CORDELIA
It does, my lord.
LEAR
So young, and so untender?
CORDELIA
So young, my lord, and true.
LEAR
Let it be so: your truth will be your dowry!
For by the sacred radiance of the sun,
The sorcery of Hecate, and the night;
By all the power of the stars above,
Which govern when we live or cease to be,
I disavow paternal obligations,
Relation and all claims on me through blood,
And as a stranger to my heart and me,
Deny you these forever. Barbarous Scythians,
Or those who feast upon their progeny
To gorge their appetites, will be as welcome
Here to my bosom, pitied and assisted,
As you my one-time daughter.
KENT
My good king—
LEAR
Peace, Kent.
Don’t come between the dragon and his wrath.
I loved her most, and planned to wager all
On her kind care! [to Cordelia] Away, and leave my sight!—
My only peace is death, as I remove
Her father’s heart from her! Call France.
[Shocked ATTENDANTS do not respond]
Obey!
Call Burgundy. Cornwall and Albany,
[ATTENDANT exits]
My other daughters will divide her third;
Let pride, which she calls frankness, be her dowry.
I will endow you jointly with my power,
With sole authority, and all the trappings
That come with majesty. And month by month
Retaining for my use one hundred knights,
Provided me by you, I’ll alternate
Residing with you two. I’ll still retain
My title, and all honors due a king.
But revenue, control, all other charges—
Belovèd sons, they’re yours; to make this firm,
This crown is split between you.
[Keeps his crown but gives a smaller crown, previously intended for Cordelia, to ALBANY and CORNWALL]
KENT
Royal Lear,
Whom I have always honored as my king,
Loved as my father, followed as my master,
As my great patron thought of in my prayers…
LEAR
The bow is bent and drawn; avoid the shaft.
KENT
Let it strike even if its barbs invade
The tissues of my heart: Kent must be blunt
When Lear is mad. What would you do, old man?
Do you think duty will not dare to speak
If power bows to flattery? Honor calls for frankness
When majesty falls to folly. Retain your kingdom;
And use your soundest judgment to curtail
This hideous rashness. Slay me if I err:
Your youngest daughter does not love you least,
And can’t be empty-hearted if her voice
Does not sound hollow.
LEAR
Kent, on your life, no more.
KENT
My life I’ve always seen as but a stake
To bet against your enemies, not fear its loss,
Your safety my incentive.
LEAR
Out of my sight!
KENT
See better, Lear; and let me always be
The target in the center of your eye.
LEAR
Now, by Apollo—
KENT
Now by Apollo, king,
You call your gods in vain.
LEAR
O slave! O infidel! [laying his hand on his sword]
ALBANY (husband of Goneril) and CORNWALL (husband of Regan)
Dear sir, restrain your rage!
KENT
Kill your physician and then pass his fee
On to the foul disease. Withdraw your gifts,
Or while my throat can still ring out alarms,
I’ll tell you “You do evil.”
LEAR
Hear me, traitor!
Show your allegiance, hear me!—
[KENT kneels]
Since you have sought to make me break my vow—
Which I would never dare—and with forced pride
Have worked to block the discharge of my judgments—
Something my rank and nature can’t abide,
My power now disposed, take your reward.
Five days I will allow you to prepare
To shield yourself from hardships in this world,
But on the sixth you’ll turn your hated back
Upon my kingdom. If, on the tenth day following,
Your banished torso’s found in my dominions,
That moment is your death. Be gone! By Jupiter,
This shall not be revoked.
KENT
[pausing] Farewell, king. Since you choose to show this face,
Freedom lives elsewhere, banished from this place.
[to Cordelia] And pray the gods will shelter you, dear maid,
Whose thoughts are just and candidly displayed!
[to Regan and Goneril] And may your actions prove your speeches true,
That from your words of love good deeds ensue.
So Kent, O princes, bids you all adieu.
He’ll seek the old ways in a country new.
[Exit]
[Trumpet fanfare. Re-enter GLOUCESTER, with FRANCE, BURGUNDY, and ATTENDANTS]
GLOUCESTER
Here’s France and Burgundy, my noble lord.
LEAR
My Lord of Burgundy,
I will address you first, who with this king [indicating France]
Vies for my daughter’s hand. What is the least
You will require in dowry given outright
Before you cease this quest for love.
BURGUNDY (Duke of Burgundy, suitor to Cordelia)
Your majesty,
I seek no more than what your highness offered,
Nor will you offer less.
LEAR
Most noble Burgundy,
When prized by me, I held her at that value,
But now her worth has dropped. Sir, there she stands.
If any of this insubstantial figure,
Or all of it, with my displeasure added,
And nothing more, seems pleasing to your grace,
She’s there, and she is yours.
BURGUNDY
I’ve no reply.
LEAR
Will you, with these deficiencies she owns,
Made friendless, now adopted by my hate,
Bequeathed my curses, cast out with my oath,
Take her, or leave her?
BURGUNDY
Pardon me, royal sir,
But such conditions offer little choice.
LEAR
Then leave her, sir, for by the power that made me,
I’ve tallied for you all her wealth. [to France] Great king,
I do not wish to lead your love astray
And wed it to my hate. I beg you then
To set your fondness on a worthier course
Than on this wretch whom even nature seems
Ashamed to call her own.
FRANCE (King of France, suitor to Cordelia)
This is most strange,
That she, the foremost object of your love,
The topic of your praise, balm of your age,
Your best, your dearest, could in this wink of time
Commit an act so monstrous as to strip
Away all folds of favor. If her offense
Is not of such unnatural degree
As to repulse, your former, pledged affection
Was surely tainted. Thinking this of her
Requires a faith that nothing short of miracle
Could ever plant in me.
CORDELIA
While there’s still time, I beg your majesty—
Given I lack that glib and oily art
To speak without intent to act, since what I pledge,
I do before I speak—to make it known
That it’s no stain of vice, murder, or malice,
No unchaste action or dishonest move,
That has deprived me of your grace and favor.
What I don’t have has made me all the richer—
An always-hustling eye, a tongue to match,
I’m glad I don’t have these—yet lacking them
Has cast me from your liking.
LEAR
Better you
Had not been born than not to’ve pleased me better.
FRANCE
Is it just this—a natural reticence
Which often leaves the actions unannounced
That she intends to take? My lord of Burgundy,
What are you saying to her? Love’s not love
When it is mingled with concerns that fly
Beyond the central point. Will you have her?
She is herself a dowry.
BURGUNDY
Royal king,
Just give the payment that you have proposed,
And I will take Cordelia by the hand,
Duchess of Burgundy.
LEAR
Nothing. I’ve sworn it. I am firm.
BURGUNDY
I’m sorry, then, that having lost a father
You too must lose a husband.
CORDELIA
Peace be with Burgundy!
Because concerns of wealth comprise his love,
I shall not be his wife.
FRANCE
Fairest Cordelia, who’s most rich when poor,
Most chosen when refused, loved when despised—
You and your virtues I will seize them here:
The law will let us take what’s thrown away.
Gods, gods! It’s strange that such a cold neglect
Ignites my love with feverish respect.
Your dowerless daughter, tossed into my hands,
Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France.
Not all the dukes of watery Burgundy
Could buy this low-priced, precious maid I see.
My queen, leave this unnaturalness behind.
Though you’ve lost here, a better place you’ll find.
LEAR
You take her, France. Let her be yours, for we
Have no such daughter and shall never see
That face of hers again. [to Cordelia] So now go forth
Without our love, our blessing, or support.—
Come, noble Burgundy.
[Flourish. Exit LEAR, BURGUNDY, CORNEALLl, ALBANY, GLOUCESTER, and ATTENDANTS]
FRANCE
Bid farewell to your sisters.
CORDELIA
Jewels of our father, with these tear-washed eyes
Cordelia leaves you. I see now what you are,
But, as a sister, am quite loath to call
Your faults by their true names. Love father well.
To your supposèd bosoms I commit him.
But if, alas, I still stood in his grace,
I'd recommend he seek a better place.
So, farewell to you both.
REGAN
Do not prescribe our duties.
GONERIL
Turn your thoughts
To pleasing France, who took you in like beggars
Take alms. With your obedience now so slack,
You well deserve to want what you now lack.
CORDELIA
Time will unfold what layers of cunning hide:
Those who mask faults, in time shame must deride.
And may you prosper well!
FRANCE
Come, fair Cordelia.
Goneril and Regan
switch to prose
[Exit FRANCE and CORDELIA]
GONERIL
Sister, there’s much I have to say about what most intimately concerns us both. It seems our father will depart from here tonight.
REGAN
That’s most certain, and with you; next month with us.
GONERIL
Look how full of impulse his old age is. The observations we have made of this have not been few. He always loved our sister most, and the poor judgment he displayed here in casting her out is only too obvious.
REGAN
It is, no doubt, the infirmities of his age, yet he has ever so slenderly known himself.
GONERIL
Even in his best and soundest years he was rash; thus, we must expect to receive from his age, not merely the imperfections of a deeply-embedded disposition but also an unruly wrong-headedness that the infirmity and irritability of his years bring with them.
REGAN
It’s likely that Kent’s banishment is not the last of these impulsive fits and starts.
GONERIL
There are further formalities of leave-taking between France and him. I hope you’ll let us join forces on this. If our father can exercise authority in the manner just demonstrated, this just-concluded “surrender” of his power can only harm us.
REGAN
We shall continue thinking about it.
GONERIL
We must do something while the iron’s in the fire.
[Exit]
