Click on any scene below for a side-by-side translation from the original Shakespeare into modern English.
Act 1, Scene 1
King Ferdinand of Navarre meets with his friends, Berowne, Longaville and Dumain.The King's excited about this scheme they've cooked up. They're going to get famous by establishing a school at the...
Act 1, Scene 2
Armado is walking in the park with his servant. (NOTE: In the Fogler edition of the play, Armado's servant is called "Mote." In other editions, he's called "Moth." We don't think either name is par...
Act 2, Scene 1
The Princess of France arrives with her ladies (Rosaline, Maria, and Katherine), one of her attendants (Boyet), and two other lords.Boyet gives us a little back story. He lets us not that the Princ...
Act 3, Scene 1
Armado finally gets that song out of Mote. It's Concolinel, which, according to a 2015 Daily Mail article, is an X-rated French song. Fun. Armado apparently enjoys it, because he refers to it...
Act 4, Scene 1
The girls are on a hunt. The Princess is in a good mood and teases the Forester for not calling her fair (as in beautiful). She plans to kill a deer to win praise.
Act 4, Scene 2
We're introduced to two new characters, the schoolmaster Holofernes and Sir Nathaniel, the curate (country preacher).Holofernes is learned and enjoys talking. If he hasn't said something six differ...
Act 4. Scene 3
Berowne enters with Speech #2 praising the pitch-ball eyes of Rosaline. He's got it bad. When he hears the King approaching, he hides.The King comes in with a classic Shakespearean love-groan (4.3....
Act 5, Scene 1
Holofernes, Sir Nathaniel and Dull enter from dinner. Nathaniel is up to his usual brown-nosing with Holofernes. He says how refreshing it is to enjoy a scintillating conversation after having spen...
Act 5, Scene 2
The Princess and her ladies enter the grounds and compare gifts and letters from the men in their lives. They make ruthless fun of the long letters full of exaggerated flattery, and compliment...