No Fear Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Get this No Fear to go!
Act 1, Scene 3, Page 3
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55 |
NURSE
Yes, madam. Yet I cannot choose but laugh
To think it should leave crying and say
“ay.”
And yet, I warrant, it had upon its brow
A bump as big as a young cockerel’s stone,
A perilous knock, and it cried bitterly.
“Yea,” quoth my husband,
“Fall’st upon thy face?
Thou wilt fall backward when thou comest to age.
Wilt thou not, Jule?” It stinted and said
“ay.”
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NURSE
Yes ,madam. But I can’t help laughing to think that the
baby stopped crying and said, “Yes.” I
swear, she had a bump on her forehead as big as a rooster’s
testicle. It was a painful bruise, and she was crying bitterly.
“Yes,” said my husband, “Did you
fall on your face? You’ll fall backward when you grow up,
won’t you, Jule?” And she stopped crying and
said, “Yes.”
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JULIET
And stint thou too, I pray thee, Nurse, say I.
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JULIET
Now you stop too, Nurse, please.
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NURSE
Peace, I have done. God mark thee to his grace!
Thou wast the prettiest babe that e'er I nursed.
An I might live to see thee married once,
I have my wish.
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NURSE
Peace. I’m done talking. May God choose you to receive
his grace. You were the prettiest baby I ever nursed. If I live to
see you get married someday, all my wishes will come true.
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65 |
LADY CAPULET
Marry, that “marry” is the very theme
I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet,
How stands your disposition to be married?
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LADY CAPULET
Well, marriage is exactly what we have to discuss. Tell me, my
daughter Juliet, what is your attitude about getting married?
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JULIET
It is an honor that I dream not of.
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JULIET
It is an honor that I do not dream of.
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NURSE
An honor! Were not I thine only nurse,
I would say thou hadst sucked wisdom from thy teat.
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NURSE
“An honor?” If I weren’t your
only nurse, I’d say you had sucked wisdom from the breast
that fed you.
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75 |
LADY CAPULET
Well, think of marriage now. Younger than you
Here in Verona, ladies of esteem
Are made already mothers. By my count,
I was your mother much upon these years
That you are now a maid. Thus then in brief:
The valiant Paris seeks you for his love.
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LADY CAPULET
Well, start thinking about marriage now. Here in Verona there are
girls younger than you—girls from noble
families—who have already become mothers. By my count, I
was already your mother at just about your age, while you remain a
virgin. Well then, I’ll say this quickly: the valiant Paris
wants you as his bride.
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NURSE
A man, young lady! Lady, such a man
As all the world. Why, he’s a man of wax.
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NURSE
What a man, young lady. He’s as great a man as any in the
whole world. He’s as perfect as if he were sculpted from
wax.
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