Original: Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!
Modern: Oh my God, what a sudden transformation this is!

Original: Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear,
Modern: Is Rosaline, the one you loved so deeply,

Original: So soon forsaken? young men’s love then lies
Modern: Already forgotten? Then young men’s love must exist

Original: Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.
Modern: Not really in their hearts, but only in what they see.

Original: Jesu Maria, what a deal of brine
Modern: Jesus and Mary, what a huge amount of tears

Original: Hath wash’d thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline!
Modern: Have washed down your pale cheeks over Rosaline!

Original: How much salt water thrown away in waste,
Modern: How much crying has been completely wasted,

Original: To season love, that of it doth not taste!
Modern: To flavor a love that doesn’t even last!

Original: The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears,
Modern: The sun hasn’t even had time to clear away your sighs from the sky,

Original: Thy old groans ring yet in my ancient ears;
Modern: Your recent moaning is still ringing in my old ears;

Original: Lo, here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit
Modern: Look, here on your cheek there’s still the mark

Original: Of an old tear that is not wash’d off yet:
Modern: Of a recent tear that hasn’t even dried yet:

Original: If e’er thou wast thyself and these woes thine,
Modern: If you were ever sincere and these sorrows were really yours,

Original: Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline:
Modern: You and all this suffering were entirely about Rosaline:

Original: And art thou changed? pronounce this sentence then,
Modern: And now you’ve changed? Then I can only conclude this,

Original: Women may fall, when there’s no strength in men.
Modern: Women can’t be expected to be faithful when men are this weak.

“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.