No Fear Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Act 1, Scene 1
Original Text | Modern Text | |
Enter SAMPSON and
GREGORY of the house of Capulet, with swords and bucklers |
SAMPSON and GREGORY,
servants of the Capulet family, enter carrying swords and small
shields. | |
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SAMPSON
Gregory, on my word, we’ll not carry coals.
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SAMPSON
Gregory, I swear, we can’t let them humiliate us. We
won’t take their garbage.
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GREGORY
No, for then we should be colliers.
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GREGORY
(teasing
SAMPSON) No, because then
we’d be garbagemen.
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SAMPSON
I mean, an we be in choler, we’ll draw.
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SAMPSON
What I mean is, if they make us angry we’ll pull out our
swords.
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GREGORY
Ay, while you live, draw your neck out of collar.
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GREGORY
Maybe you should focus on pulling yourself out of trouble,
Sampson.
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5 |
SAMPSON
I strike quickly, being moved.
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SAMPSON
I hit hard when I’m angry.
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GREGORY
But thou art not quickly moved to strike.
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GREGORY
But it’s hard to make you angry.
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SAMPSON
A dog of the house of Montague moves me.
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SAMPSON
One of those dogs from the Montague house can make me
angry.
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GREGORY
To move is to stir, and to be valiant is to stand.
Therefore if thou art moved thou runn’st away.
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GREGORY
Angry enough to run away. You won’t stand and
fight.
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10 |
SAMPSON
A dog of that house shall move me to stand. I will
take the wall of any man or maid of Montague’s.
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SAMPSON
A dog from that house will make me angry enough to take a stand.
If I pass one of them on the street, I’ll take the side
closer to the wall and let him walk in the gutter.
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