As You Like It: Act 3, Scene 3 Translation

A side-by-side translation of Act 3, Scene 3 of As You Like It from the original Shakespeare into modern English.

Original Text	Translated Text
Source: Folger Shakespeare Library
Enter Touchstone and Audrey, followed by Jaques. TOUCHSTONE Come apace, good Audrey. I will fetch up your goats, Audrey. And how, Audrey? Am I the man yet? Doth my simple feature content you? AUDREY Your features, Lord warrant us! What features? 5 TOUCHSTONE I am here with thee and thy goats, as the most capricious poet, honest Ovid, was among the Goths. JAQUES, aside O knowledge ill-inhabited, worse than Jove in a thatched house. 10 TOUCHSTONE When a man’s verses cannot be understood, nor a man’s good wit seconded with the forward child, understanding, it strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning in a little room. Truly, I would the gods had made thee poetical. 15 AUDREY I do not know what “poetical” is. Is it honest in deed and word? Is it a true thing? TOUCHSTONE No, truly, for the truest poetry is the most feigning, and lovers are given to poetry, and what they swear in poetry may be said as lovers they do 20 feign. AUDREY Do you wish, then, that the gods had made me poetical? TOUCHSTONE I do, truly, for thou swear’st to me thou art honest. Now if thou wert a poet, I might have 25 some hope thou didst feign. AUDREY Would you not have me honest? TOUCHSTONE No, truly, unless thou wert hard-favored; for honesty coupled to beauty is to have honey a sauce to sugar. 30 JAQUES, aside A material fool. AUDREY Well, I am not fair, and therefore I pray the gods make me honest. TOUCHSTONE Truly, and to cast away honesty upon a foul slut were to put good meat into an unclean 35 dish. AUDREY I am not a slut, though I thank the gods I am foul. TOUCHSTONE Well, praised be the gods for thy foulness; sluttishness may come hereafter. But be it as it may 40 be, I will marry thee; and to that end I have been with Sir Oliver Martext, the vicar of the next village, who hath promised to meet me in this place of the forest and to couple us. JAQUES, aside I would fain see this meeting. 45 AUDREY Well, the gods give us joy. TOUCHSTONE Amen. A man may, if he were of a fearful heart, stagger in this attempt, for here we have no temple but the wood, no assembly but horn-beasts. But what though? Courage. As horns are odious, 50 they are necessary. It is said “Many a man knows no end of his goods.” Right: many a man has good horns and knows no end of them. Well, that is the dowry of his wife; ’tis none of his own getting. Horns? Even so. Poor men alone? No, no. The 55 noblest deer hath them as huge as the rascal. Is the single man therefore blessed? No. As a walled town is more worthier than a village, so is the forehead of a married man more honorable than the bare brow of a bachelor. And by how much defense is better 60 than no skill, by so much is a horn more precious than to want. Enter Sir Oliver Martext. Here comes Sir Oliver.—Sir Oliver Martext, you are well met. Will you dispatch us here under this tree, or shall we go with you to your chapel?	Touchstone has been busy finding love of his own with Audrey, a simple shepherd girl. He intends to marry her. As Touchstone fawns over Audrey, Jaques follows. Touchstone woos Audrey with pretty words about poetry and honesty. The problem? When we said Audrey was simple, we meant simple. She doesn't get his poetry—it's over her head. Touchstone is fine with that, though. He announces that a local vicar, Sir Oliver Martext, has promised to meet the pair in the forest and marry them. So they're making this happen. Like, right now. Touchstone then makes a long speech about how Arden is full of "horn-beasts," an allusion to the animals in the forest and to cuckolds. (In Shakespeare's day, there was an awful lot of punning about horns, a classic sign of a cuckolded husband—a guy who has been cheated on by his wife. See Symbolism if you want to know more.)
OLIVER MARTEXT Is there none here to give the woman? TOUCHSTONE I will not take her on gift of any man. OLIVER MARTEXT Truly, she must be given, or the marriage is not lawful. 70 JAQUES, coming forward Proceed, proceed. I’ll give her. TOUCHSTONE Good even, good Monsieur What-you-call-’t. How do you, sir? You are very well met. God ’ild you for your last company. I am very glad to see 75 you. Even a toy in hand here, sir. Nay, pray be covered. JAQUES Will you be married, motley? TOUCHSTONE As the ox hath his bow, sir, the horse his curb, and the falcon her bells, so man hath his 80 desires; and as pigeons bill, so wedlock would be nibbling. JAQUES And will you, being a man of your breeding, be married under a bush like a beggar? Get you to church, and have a good priest that can tell you 85 what marriage is. This fellow will but join you together as they join wainscot. Then one of you will prove a shrunk panel and, like green timber, warp, warp. TOUCHSTONE I am not in the mind but I were better to 90 be married of him than of another, for he is not like to marry me well, and not being well married, it will be a good excuse for me hereafter to leave my wife. JAQUES Go thou with me, and let me counsel thee. 95 TOUCHSTONE Come, sweet Audrey. We must be married, or we must live in bawdry.—Farewell, good Master Oliver, not "O sweet Oliver, O brave Oliver, 100 Leave me not behind thee," But "Wind away, Begone, I say, I will not to wedding with thee." 105 Audrey, Touchstone, and Jaques exit. OLIVER MARTEXT ’Tis no matter. Ne’er a fantastical knave of them all shall flout me out of my calling. He exits.	Touchstone's "horn-beast" speech is interrupted when Sir Oliver Martext, the vicar, shows up. (Tip: Sir Oliver Martext shouldn't be confused for Orlando's brother Oliver.) The vicar refuses to marry the couple if no one is there to give away the bride. Jaques, who has not left yet, agrees to stand up and give Audrey away. Glad we got that little formality nailed down. Yet we're still not good to go. Jaques points out that Touchstone is a man of the court, and it isn't really fitting that he be married under a bush in the middle of the forest. He really should have a church wedding. Touchstone gives us a saucy aside: If he isn't properly married, it will be easier to leave his wife. In the end, Touchstone calls Audrey away, and says they'll have to wait a little longer to get married...properly.

Original Text

Translated Text

Enter Touchstone and Audrey, followed by Jaques.

TOUCHSTONE Come apace, good Audrey. I will fetch up
your goats, Audrey. And how, Audrey? Am I the
man yet? Doth my simple feature content you?

AUDREY Your features, Lord warrant us! What
features? 5

TOUCHSTONE I am here with thee and thy goats, as the
most capricious poet, honest Ovid, was among the
Goths.

JAQUES, aside O knowledge ill-inhabited, worse than
Jove in a thatched house. 10

TOUCHSTONE When a man’s verses cannot be understood,
nor a man’s good wit seconded with the
forward child, understanding, it strikes a man more
dead than a great reckoning in a little room. Truly, I
would the gods had made thee poetical. 15

AUDREY I do not know what “poetical” is. Is it honest
in deed and word? Is it a true thing?

TOUCHSTONE No, truly, for the truest poetry is the most
feigning, and lovers are given to poetry, and what
they swear in poetry may be said as lovers they do 20
feign.

AUDREY Do you wish, then, that the gods had made me
poetical?

TOUCHSTONE I do, truly, for thou swear’st to me thou
art honest. Now if thou wert a poet, I might have 25
some hope thou didst feign.

AUDREY Would you not have me honest?

TOUCHSTONE No, truly, unless thou wert hard-favored;
for honesty coupled to beauty is to have honey a
sauce to sugar. 30

JAQUES, aside A material fool.

AUDREY Well, I am not fair, and therefore I pray the
gods make me honest.

TOUCHSTONE Truly, and to cast away honesty upon a
foul slut were to put good meat into an unclean 35
dish.

AUDREY I am not a slut, though I thank the gods I am
foul.

TOUCHSTONE Well, praised be the gods for thy foulness;
sluttishness may come hereafter. But be it as it may 40
be, I will marry thee; and to that end I have been
with Sir Oliver Martext, the vicar of the next village,
who hath promised to meet me in this place of the
forest and to couple us.

JAQUES, aside I would fain see this meeting. 45

AUDREY Well, the gods give us joy.

TOUCHSTONE Amen. A man may, if he were of a fearful
heart, stagger in this attempt, for here we have no
temple but the wood, no assembly but horn-beasts.
But what though? Courage. As horns are odious, 50
they are necessary. It is said “Many a man knows no
end of his goods.” Right: many a man has good
horns and knows no end of them. Well, that is the
dowry of his wife; ’tis none of his own getting.
Horns? Even so. Poor men alone? No, no. The 55
noblest deer hath them as huge as the rascal. Is the
single man therefore blessed? No. As a walled town
is more worthier than a village, so is the forehead of
a married man more honorable than the bare brow
of a bachelor. And by how much defense is better 60
than no skill, by so much is a horn more precious
than to want.

Enter Sir Oliver Martext.

Here comes Sir Oliver.—Sir Oliver Martext, you are
well met. Will you dispatch us here under this tree,
or shall we go with you to your chapel?

Touchstone has been busy finding love of his own with Audrey, a simple shepherd girl. He intends to marry her.

As Touchstone fawns over Audrey, Jaques follows. Touchstone woos Audrey with pretty words about poetry and honesty. The problem? When we said Audrey was simple, we meant simple. She doesn't get his poetry—it's over her head. Touchstone is fine with that, though.

He announces that a local vicar, Sir Oliver Martext, has promised to meet the pair in the forest and marry them. So they're making this happen. Like, right now.

Touchstone then makes a long speech about how Arden is full of "horn-beasts," an allusion to the animals in the forest and to cuckolds. (In Shakespeare's day, there was an awful lot of punning about horns, a classic sign of a cuckolded husband—a guy who has been cheated on by his wife. See Symbolism if you want to know more.)

OLIVER MARTEXT Is there none here to give the
woman?

TOUCHSTONE I will not take her on gift of any man.

OLIVER MARTEXT Truly, she must be given, or the
marriage is not lawful. 70

JAQUES, coming forward Proceed, proceed. I’ll give
her.

TOUCHSTONE Good even, good Monsieur What-you-call-’t.
How do you, sir? You are very well met. God
’ild you for your last company. I am very glad to see 75
you. Even a toy in hand here, sir. Nay, pray be
covered.

JAQUES Will you be married, motley?

TOUCHSTONE As the ox hath his bow, sir, the horse his
curb, and the falcon her bells, so man hath his 80
desires; and as pigeons bill, so wedlock would be
nibbling.

JAQUES And will you, being a man of your breeding, be
married under a bush like a beggar? Get you to
church, and have a good priest that can tell you 85
what marriage is. This fellow will but join you
together as they join wainscot. Then one of you will
prove a shrunk panel and, like green timber, warp,
warp.

TOUCHSTONE I am not in the mind but I were better to 90
be married of him than of another, for he is not like
to marry me well, and not being well married, it
will be a good excuse for me hereafter to leave my
wife.

JAQUES Go thou with me, and let me counsel thee. 95

TOUCHSTONE Come, sweet Audrey. We must be married,
or we must live in bawdry.—Farewell, good
Master Oliver, not

"O sweet Oliver,
O brave Oliver, 100
Leave me not behind thee,"

But

"Wind away,
Begone, I say,
I will not to wedding with thee." 105

Audrey, Touchstone, and Jaques exit.

OLIVER MARTEXT ’Tis no matter. Ne’er a fantastical
knave of them all shall flout me out of my calling.

He exits.

Touchstone's "horn-beast" speech is interrupted when Sir Oliver Martext, the vicar, shows up. (Tip: Sir Oliver Martext shouldn't be confused for Orlando's brother Oliver.)

The vicar refuses to marry the couple if no one is there to give away the bride.

Jaques, who has not left yet, agrees to stand up and give Audrey away. Glad we got that little formality nailed down.

Yet we're still not good to go. Jaques points out that Touchstone is a man of the court, and it isn't really fitting that he be married under a bush in the middle of the forest. He really should have a church wedding.

Touchstone gives us a saucy aside: If he isn't properly married, it will be easier to leave his wife.

In the end, Touchstone calls Audrey away, and says they'll have to wait a little longer to get married...properly.

As You Like It: Act 3, Scene 3 Translation

A side-by-side translation of Act 3, Scene 3 of As You Like It from the original Shakespeare into modern English.

Original Text

Translated Text

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