Original: Even or odd, of all days in the year,
Modern: Whether it’s an even or odd number of days in the year,

Original: Come Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen.
Modern: By the night before August first, she’ll be fourteen years old.

Original: Susan and she.God rest all Christian souls!.
Modern: Susan and Juliet—God rest all Christian souls!

Original: Were of an age: well, Susan is with God;
Modern: Were the same age, but now Susan is dead and with God.

Original: She was too good for me: but, as I said,
Modern: She was too good for someone like me, but as I was saying,

Original: On Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen;
Modern: On the night before August first, she’ll turn fourteen.

Original: That shall she, marry; I remember it well.
Modern: Yes indeed she will—I remember it perfectly.

Original: ‘Tis since the earthquake now eleven years;
Modern: It’s been eleven years since that earthquake,

Original: And she was wean’d,.I never shall forget it,.
Modern: And that’s when she was weaned from nursing—I’ll never forget it.

Original: Of all the days of the year, upon that day:
Modern: Of all the days in the year, it happened on that very day.

Original: For I had then laid wormwood to my dug,
Modern: Because I had put bitter wormwood herb on my breast

Original: Sitting in the sun under the dove-house wall;
Modern: While sitting in the sunshine by the dovecote wall.

Original: My lord and you were then at Mantua:.
Modern: You and your husband were away in Mantua then.

Original: Nay, I do bear a brain:.but, as I said,
Modern: No, I do have a good memory, but as I was saying,

Original: When it did taste the wormwood on the nipple
Modern: When the baby tasted that bitter wormwood on my nipple

Original: Of my dug and felt it bitter, pretty fool,
Modern: And felt how bitter it was, the sweet little thing,

Original: To see it tetchy and fall out with the dug!
Modern: You should have seen how fussy she got and pushed away from my breast!

Original: Shake quoth the dove-house: ‘twas no need, I trow,
Modern: The dovecote shook during the earthquake—there was no need, I think,

Original: To bid me trudge:
Modern: To tell me to get moving and leave quickly.

Original: And since that time it is eleven years;
Modern: And it’s been eleven years since then.

Original: For then she could stand alone; nay, by the rood,
Modern: She could already stand up by herself then—no, by the cross,

Original: She could have run and waddled all about;
Modern: She could have run and toddled all around the place.

Original: For even the day before, she broke her brow:
Modern: Just the day before, she had cut her forehead.

Original: And then my husband.God be with his soul!
Modern: And then my husband—God rest his soul!

Original: A’ was a merry man.took up the child:
Modern: He was such a cheerful man—he picked up the child and said,

Original: ‘Yea,’ quoth he, ‘dost thou fall upon thy face?
Modern: “Yes,” he said, “so you fall forward on your face?

Original: Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit;
Modern: You’ll fall backward when you’re older and wiser.

Original: Wilt thou not, Jule?’ and, by my holidame,
Modern: Won’t you, Juliet?” And I swear by all that’s holy,

Original: The pretty wretch left crying and said ‘Ay.’
Modern: The sweet little girl stopped crying and said “Yes.”

Original: To see, now, how a jest shall come about!
Modern: Just think how that joke will turn out to be true!

Original: I warrant, an I should live a thousand years,
Modern: I promise you, even if I lived a thousand years,

Original: I never should forget it: ‘Wilt thou not, Jule?’ quoth he;
Modern: I would never forget it: “Won’t you, Juliet?” he said,

Original: And, pretty fool, it stinted and said ‘Ay.’
Modern: And the pretty little thing stopped crying and said “Yes.”

In Act I, Scene iii of Romeo and Juliet, Lady Capulet enters Juliet’s chamber seeking to speak with her daughter privately, though the Nurse remains present despite Lady Capulet’s initial attempts to dismiss her. Lady Capulet brings up the subject of marriage, informing the thirteen-year-old Juliet that Paris, a young nobleman, has expressed interest in marrying her. She asks Juliet how she feels about the prospect of marriage in general.

Lady Capulet and the Nurse both speak favorably of Paris, with Lady Capulet comparing him to a beautiful book that only needs a cover (a wife) to be complete. The Nurse enthusiastically supports the match, noting that Paris is an excellent man and that Juliet would gain status and happiness by marrying him. When asked directly about her feelings toward Paris, Juliet responds diplomatically that she will look favorably upon him if looking favorably can lead to liking, but she will not let her eye express more interest than her mother’s consent allows. A servant then enters to announce that the guests have arrived for the Capulet feast, and all three women prepare to join the celebration.

“Romeo and Juliet” tells the story of two young lovers from feuding families in Verona. Romeo Montague attends a Capulet feast in disguise, where he meets and instantly falls in love with Juliet Capulet. They meet secretly that night on her balcony and decide to marry the next day. Friar Lawrence agrees to perform the ceremony, hoping their union might end the family feud.

After the secret wedding, Romeo encounters Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, who challenges him to a duel. When Romeo refuses to fight, his friend Mercutio accepts the challenge and is killed by Tybalt. In revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished from Verona by Prince Escalus. Meanwhile, Juliet’s parents, unaware of her secret marriage, arrange for her to wed Count Paris.

Desperate to avoid this second marriage, Juliet seeks help from Friar Lawrence, who gives her a potion that will make her appear dead. The plan is for Romeo to return and take her away when she awakens in the Capulet tomb. However, Romeo never receives the friar’s message explaining the scheme. Believing Juliet truly dead, he purchases poison and drinks it beside her tomb.

Juliet awakens to find Romeo’s lifeless body and, in despair, kills herself with his dagger. The tragic deaths of their children finally reconcile the Montague and Capulet families, who vow to end their ancient hatred. Prince Escalus concludes that all are punished by this sorrowful outcome of the families’ bitter feud.