Original Text |
Modern Text |
|
Enter MARIA and the FOOL
|
|
|
MARIA Nay, either tell me where thou hast been, or I will not open
my lips so wide as a bristle may enter in way of thy excuse.
My lady will hang thee for thy absence.
|
MARIA No. Either tell me where you’ve been, or I won’t make any excuses for you to Lady Olivia. Lady Olivia will have you executed for not showing up.
|
|
FOOL Let her hang me. He that is well hanged in this world needs
to fear no colors.
|
FOOL So let her execute me. Anyone who’s executed doesn’t have to be afraid of anything he sees.
|
|
MARIA Make that good.
|
MARIA How do you know?
|
|
FOOL He shall see none to fear.
|
FOOL Well, he’ll be dead, so he won’t see anything.
|
|
MARIA A good lenten answer. I can tell thee where that saying was
born, of “I fear no colors.”
|
MARIA That’s a lame answer. By the way, I know where you get all your brave talk about not being afraid of anything.
|
|
FOOL
10Where, good Mistress Mary?
|
FOOL Where, good Miss Mary?
|
|
MARIA In the wars. And that may you be bold to say in your
foolery.
|
MARIA From soldiers. But you’ll never see the front lines. It’s easy for you to talk about bravery, working as a fool in this palace.
|
|
FOOL Well, God give them wisdom that have it. And those that
are fools, let them use their talents.
|
FOOL Well, we all have our special gifts. Some people are born wise; those of us who were meant to be fools should do what they do best.
|
|
MARIA
15Yet you will be hanged for being so long absent. Or to be
turned away, is not that as good as a hanging to you?
|
MARIA But still, she’s going to kill you for being gone so long. Or at least fire you. And wouldn’t that be as bad for you as being killed?
|
Take a Study Break
-
Every Shakespeare Play Summed Up in a Quote from The Office
-
Every Marvel Movie Summed Up in a Single Sentence
-
A Roundup of the Funniest Greek Mythology Memes on the Internet
-
11 Quotes That Sum Up the Entire Book
-
60 YA Movie Adaptations, Ranked
-
QUIZ: Can You Guess the Book from a Bad One-Sentence Summary?
-
Pick 10 Books and We'll Guess Whether You're an Introvert or an Extrovert