SparkNotes: Free Study Guides No Fear Shakespeare: The Bard made easy SparkCharts: Just the facts TestPrep: SAT, ACT, and more 101s: College texts condensed Subject Finder: Browse by subject SparkCollege: Get in! SparkLife: 100% study-free home_bottom home_top BN_link
Biology
 
History
 
Literature
 
Philosophy
 
Shakespeare
 
Home : As You Like It : Act 3, scene v : page 160 Read the Study Guide: As You Like It
Get the book: Buy it online at Barnes & Noble
Tell a friend: Email this page
As You Like It
No Fear Shakespeare
NAVIGATE  

 Previous Page Next Page 
Original Text Modern Text
 SILVIUS
  Sweet Phoebe—
SILVIUS
Sweet Phoebe—
 PHOEBE
  Ha, what sayst thou, Silvius?
PHOEBE
What? Did you say something, Silvius?
 SILVIUS
  Sweet Phoebe, pity me.
SILVIUS
Sweet Phoebe, have pity on me.
 PHOEBE
95 Why, I am sorry for thee, gentle Silvius.
PHOEBE
Well, I'm sorry for you, gentle Silvius.
 SILVIUS
  Wherever sorrow is, relief would be.
  If you do sorrow at my grief in love,
  By giving love your sorrow and my grief
  Were both extermined.
SILVIUS
But if you're really sorry for me, you can cure me. If you're sorry for the grief I feel in loving you, you can love me back. Then both my grief and your sorrow will be cured.
 PHOEBE
100 Thou hast my love. Is not that neighborly?
PHOEBE
You have my friendship. Isn't that enough?
 SILVIUS
  I would have you.
SILVIUS
I want you.
 PHOEBE
  Why, that were covetousness.
  Silvius, the time was that I hated thee,
  And yet it is not that I bear thee love,
105 But since that thou canst talk of love so well,
  Thy company, which erst was irksome to me,
  I will endure, and I'll employ thee too.
  But do not look for further recompense
  Than thine own gladness that thou art employed.
PHOEBE
Well, that's just greedy. Silvius, I used to hate you. I still don't love you, but since you're well-spoken when it comes to love, I'll keep you around and make use of you. But don't expect any more than that.
 SILVIUS
110 So holy and so perfect is my love,
  And I in such a poverty of grace,
  That I shall think it a most plenteous crop
  To glean the broken ears after the man
  That the main harvest reaps. Loose now and then
115 A scattered smile, and that I'll live upon.
SILVIUS
My love for you is so pure and perfect, and I'm in such a bad way, that I'll be grateful for whatever leftover love you throw my way. Every once in a while, toss me a distracted smile, and I'll live on that.
 PHOEBE
  Know'st thou the youth that spoke to me erewhile?
PHOEBE
Do you know the boy who was just speaking to me?

 Previous Page Next Page 
IPOD SPARKNOTES
Read SparkNotes on your iPod.
More...
Study Guides
Learn more about the subject you're studying with these related SparkNotes.
As You Like It

Message Boards
Ask a question on the SparkNotes community boards.
As You Like It
Shakespeare
Staging Shakespeare's Plays

SparkCharts
Printable, portable charts on this subject.
Shakespeare

Help | Feedback | Make a request | Report an error | Send to a friend
No Fear Shakespeare
NAVIGATE  
Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | About | Sitemap
©2008 SparkNotes LLC, All Rights Reserved.