Coriolanus: Act 1, Scene 8 Translation

A side-by-side translation of Act 1, Scene 8 of Coriolanus from the original Shakespeare into modern English.

Original Text	Translated Text
Source: Folger Shakespeare Library
Alarum, as in battle. Enter Martius and Aufidius at several doors.	Back on the battlefields, Caius Martius meets up with his mortal enemy, Tullus Aufidius. (Cue dramatic music.)
MARTIUS I’ll fight with none but thee, for I do hate thee Worse than a promise-breaker. AUFIDIUS We hate alike. Not Afric owns a serpent I abhor More than thy fame and envy. Fix thy foot. 5 MARTIUS Let the first budger die the other’s slave, And the gods doom him after! AUFIDIUS If I fly, Martius, Hollo me like a hare. MARTIUS Within these three hours, 10 Tullus, Alone I fought in your Corioles’ walls And made what work I pleased. ’Tis not my blood Wherein thou seest me masked. For thy revenge, Wrench up thy power to th’ highest. 15 AUFIDIUS Wert thou the Hector That was the whip of your bragged progeny, Thou shouldst not scape me here. Here they fight, and certain Volsces come in the aid of Aufidius.	As these two go at it in man-to-man combat, some very impressive trash talk ensues. Just as Caius Martius gains the upper hand, Aufidius' troops come to his rescue and the Volscians run away with their tails between their legs.
(To the Volsces.) Officious and not valiant, you have 20 shamed me In your condemnèd seconds. Martius fights till they be driven in breathless. Aufidius and Martius exit, separately.	Aufidius tells us he is totally "sham'd" that his soldiers had to save his life.