The full text of Shakespeare's works side-by-side with a translation into modern English. | |||
| Elizabethan English | Modern English | ||
| Let the bird of loudest lay, | Leave the bird of the loudest | ||
| On the sole Arabian tree, | On the sole Arab tree, | ||
| Herald sad and trumpet be, | Be sad and trumpet, be, | ||
| To whose sound chaste wings obey. | Keusche wings were heard to obey. | ||
| But thou shrieking harbinger, | But you screech before harbing, | ||
| Foul precurrer of the fiend, | Foul completion of the fathoms, | ||
| Augur of the fever’s end, | Augur from the end of the fever, | ||
| To this troop come thou not near. | You don't come close to this group. | ||
| From this session interdict | From this session ban | ||
| Every fowl of tyrant wing, | Every poultry of the tyrant wing, | ||
| Save the eagle, feather’d king; | Correct the Adler, Feather King; | ||
| Keep the obsequy so strict. | Keep the successors so strictly. | ||
| Let the priest in surplice white, | Let the priest white in excess, white, | ||
| That defunctive music can, | This mind music can, | ||
| Be the death-divining swan, | Be the deadly swan, swan, | ||
| Lest the requiem lack his right. | So that the request does not lack its right. | ||
| And thou treble-dated crow, | And you are troubling with a crow, crow, | ||
| That thy sable gender mak’st | This is your zobel family | ||
| With the breath thou giv’st and tak’st, | With the breath giv’st and tak’st, | ||
| ’Mongst our mourners shalt thou go. | ’Mongst our mourners you should go. | ||
| Here the anthem doth commence: | This is where the hymn begins: | ||
| Love and constancy is dead; | Love and consistency is dead; | ||
| Phoenix and the turtle fled | Phoenix and the turtle fled | ||
| In a mutual flame from hence. | In a mutual flame from now. | ||
| So they lov’d, as love in twain | So they loved as love in Twain | ||
| Had the essence but in one; | But had the essence in one; | ||
| Two distincts, division none: | Two different departments no: | ||
| Number there in love was slain. | Number there was killed. | ||
| Hearts remote, yet not asunder; | Hearts remote, but not able; | ||
| Distance and no space was seen | Distance and no room were seen | ||
| ’Twixt this turtle and his queen; | Twixt this turtle and his queen; | ||
| But in them it were a wonder. | But it was a miracle in them. | ||
| So between them love did shine, | So love shines between them, | ||
| That the turtle saw his right | That the turtle saw his right | ||
| Flaming in the phoenix’ sight; | Flaming in the eyes of the Phoenix; | ||
| Either was the other’s mine. | Both were the other's mine. | ||
| Property was thus appalled, | Property was therefore horrified | ||
| That the self was not the same; | That it was not the same; | ||
| Single nature’s double name | The double name of the individual nature | ||
| Neither two nor one was called. | Neither two nor one were called. | ||
| Reason, in itself confounded, | Founding reason in itself, | ||
| Saw division grow together; | SAW Division grows together; | ||
| To themselves yet either neither, | For yourself, also, also not, | ||
| Simple were so well compounded. | Simply tightened. | ||
| That it cried, How true a twain | That it was crying, how true a Twain | ||
| Seemeth this concordant one! | Seems this agreement! | ||
| Love hath reason, reason none, | Love has reason, no reason, none, | ||
| If what parts can so remain. | If which parts can stay. | ||
| Whereupon it made this threne | Then it did this threnon | ||
| To the phoenix and the dove, | To the phoenix and the pigeon, | ||
| Co-supremes and stars of love, | Co supremes and stars of love, | ||
| As chorus to their tragic scene. | As a choir to your tragic scene. | ||
| THRENOS | Threenos | ||
| Beauty, truth, and rarity. | Beauty, truth and rarity. | ||
| Grace in all simplicity, | Grace in all simplicity, | ||
| Here enclos’d in cinders lie. | Here the enclosures lie in fields. | ||
| Death is now the phoenix’ nest; | Death is now the Phoenix nest; | ||
| And the turtle’s loyal breast | And the loyal breast of the turtle | ||
| To eternity doth rest. | Rest to eternity. | ||
| Leaving no posterity:— | Left no posterity: - | ||
| ’Twas not their infirmity, | "It was not her frailty | ||
| It was married chastity. | It was married. | ||
| Truth may seem, but cannot be; | The truth may seem but not to be; | ||
| Beauty brag, but ’tis not she; | Beauty brags, but it is not her; | ||
| Truth and beauty buried be. | Truth and beauty are buried. | ||
| To this urn let those repair | To this urn, let them repair | ||
| That are either true or fair; | These are either true or fair; | ||
| For these dead birds sigh a prayer. | A prayer sigh for these dead birds. | ||