Shakespeare's Monologues
Tip Jar
Marcus — “Who is this? My niece, that flies away so fast?” — Titus Andronicus, Act 2, Scene 4, line 14
Titus Andronicus
·II iv 14 ·
Verse
Marcus Who is this? my niece, that flies away so fast! Cousin, a word; where is your husband? If I do dream, would all my wealth would wake me! If I do wake, some planet strike me down, That I may slumber in eternal sleep! Speak, gentle niece, what stern ungentle hands Have lopp'd and hew'd and made thy body bare Of her two branches, those sweet ornaments, Whose circling shadows kings have sought to sleep in, And might not gain so great a happiness As have thy love? Why dost not speak to me? Alas, a crimson river of warm blood, Like to a bubbling fountain stirr'd with wind, Doth rise and fall between thy rosed lips, Coming and going with thy honey breath. But, sure, some Tereus hath deflowered thee, And, lest thou shouldst detect him, cut thy tongue. Ah, now thou turn'st away thy face for shame! And, notwithstanding all this loss of blood, As from a conduit with three issuing spouts, Yet do thy cheeks look red as Titan's face Blushing to be encountered with a cloud. Shall I speak for thee? shall I say 'tis so? O, that I knew thy heart; and knew the beast, That I might rail at him, to ease my mind! Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopp'd, Doth burn the heart to cinders where it is. Fair Philomela, she but lost her tongue, And in a tedious sampler sew'd her mind: But, lovely niece, that mean is cut from thee; A craftier Tereus, cousin, hast thou met, And he hath cut those pretty fingers off, That could have better sew'd than Philomel. O, had the monster seen those lily hands Tremble, like aspen-leaves, upon a lute, And make the silken strings delight to kiss them, He would not then have touch'd them for his life! Or, had he heard the heavenly harmony Which that sweet tongue hath made, He would have dropp'd his knife, and fell asleep As Cerberus at the Thracian poet's feet. Come, let us go, and make thy father blind; For such a sight will blind a father's eye: One hour's storm will drown the fragrant meads; What will whole months of tears thy father's eyes? Do not draw back, for we will mourn with thee O, could our mourning ease thy misery! 
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Original: Who is this? my niece, that flies away so fast!
Modern: Who is this? It’s my niece, running away so quickly!
Original: Cousin, a word; where is your husband?
Modern: Cousin, wait—let me speak with you; where is your husband?
Original: If I do dream, would all my wealth would wake me!
Modern: If this is a dream, I’d give all my money to wake up!
Original: If I do wake, some planet strike me down,
Modern: If I’m awake, I wish some force from heaven would strike me dead,
Original: That I may slumber in eternal sleep!
Modern: So that I could sleep forever in death!
Original: Speak, gentle niece, what stern ungentle hands
Modern: Please speak, dear niece, what cruel and brutal hands
Original: Have lopp’d and hew’d and made thy body bare
Modern: Have chopped and cut and left your body stripped
Original: Of her two branches, those sweet ornaments,
Modern: Of its two branches, those beautiful limbs,
Original: Whose circling shadows kings have sought to sleep in,
Modern: In whose embracing arms kings would have wished to rest,
Original: And might not gain so great a happiness
Modern: But could never have achieved such great joy
Original: As have thy love? Why dost not speak to me?
Modern: As to have your love? Why won’t you speak to me?
Original: Alas, a crimson river of warm blood,
Modern: Oh no, a red river of warm blood,
Original: Like to a bubbling fountain stirr’d with wind,
Modern: Like a bubbling fountain disturbed by wind,
Original: Doth rise and fall between thy rosed lips,
Modern: Rises and falls between your rose-colored lips,
Original: Coming and going with thy honey breath.
Modern: Moving in and out with your sweet breath.
Original: But, sure, some Tereus hath deflowered thee,
Modern: But surely, some rapist like Tereus has violated you,
Original: And, lest thou shouldst detect him, cut thy tongue.
Modern: And to prevent you from identifying him, cut out your tongue.
Original: Ah, now thou turn’st away thy face for shame!
Modern: Ah, now you’re turning your face away in shame!
Original: And, notwithstanding all this loss of blood,
Modern: And despite all this blood you’ve lost,
Original: As from a conduit with three issuing spouts,
Modern: As if from a fountain with three flowing streams,
Original: Yet do thy cheeks look red as Titan’s face
Modern: Your cheeks still look as red as the sun’s face
Original: Blushing to be encountered with a cloud.
Modern: Blushing when it meets a cloud.
Original: Shall I speak for thee? shall I say ‘tis so?
Modern: Should I speak for you? Should I confirm what happened?
Original: O, that I knew thy heart; and knew the beast,
Modern: Oh, if only I knew what’s in your heart and knew the monster who did this,
Original: That I might rail at him, to ease my mind!
Modern: So that I could curse at him to give myself some relief!
Original: Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopp’d,
Modern: Hidden grief, like a closed oven,
Original: Doth burn the heart to cinders where it is.
Modern: Burns the heart to ashes from within.
Original: Fair Philomela, she but lost her tongue,
Modern: Beautiful Philomela only lost her tongue,
Original: And in a tedious sampler sew’d her mind:
Modern: And she could still sew her story into a tapestry with painstaking work:
Original: But, lovely niece, that mean is cut from thee;
Modern: But, dear niece, that way of communicating has been taken from you;
Original: A craftier Tereus, cousin, hast thou met,
Modern: You’ve encountered a more cunning villain than Tereus, cousin,
Original: And he hath cut those pretty fingers off,
Modern: And he has cut off your beautiful fingers,
Original: That could have better sew’d than Philomel.
Modern: That could have sewn even better than Philomela.
Original: O, had the monster seen those lily hands
Modern: Oh, if only the monster had seen those lily-white hands
Original: Tremble, like aspen-leaves, upon a lute,
Modern: Trembling, like aspen leaves, as they played upon a lute,
Original: And make the silken strings delight to kiss them,
Modern: And made the smooth strings seem to joyfully kiss them,
Original: He would not then have touch’d them for his life!
Modern: He wouldn’t have dared to touch them for anything!
Original: Or, had he heard the heavenly harmony
Modern: Or, if he had heard the heavenly music
Original: Which that sweet tongue hath made,
Modern: That your sweet voice has made,
Original: He would have dropp’d his knife, and fell asleep
Modern: He would have dropped his knife and fallen asleep
Original: As Cerberus at the Thracian poet’s feet.
Modern: Like the three-headed dog Cerberus did at the feet of the poet Orpheus.
Original: Come, let us go, and make thy father blind;
Modern: Come, let us go show this to your father—it will blind him with grief;
Original: For such a sight will blind a father’s eye:
Modern: For such a horrible sight will destroy a father’s ability to see:
Original: One hour’s storm will drown the fragrant meads;
Modern: One hour of rainfall will flood the sweet-smelling meadows;
Original: What will whole months of tears thy father’s eyes?
Modern: What will whole months of tears from your father’s eyes do?
Original: Do not draw back, for we will mourn with thee
Modern: Don’t pull away, for we will grieve together with you
Original: O, could our mourning ease thy misery!
Modern: Oh, if only our mourning could ease your suffering!
Titus Andronicus opens with the Roman general Titus returning victorious from war against the Goths, bringing with him prisoners including Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and her three sons. Despite Tamora’s pleas, Titus sacrifices her eldest son Alarbus in revenge for his own sons killed in battle. The Emperor Saturninus chooses Tamora as his bride, and she secretly plots revenge against Titus. Meanwhile, Titus’s daughter Lavinia is betrothed to Bassianus, the Emperor’s brother, though Saturninus had wanted to marry her himself.
Tamora’s sons Demetrius and Chiron, aided by the villainous Aaron the Moor, murder Bassianus and brutally assault Lavinia, cutting off her hands and tongue to prevent her from identifying them. Aaron tricks two of Titus’s sons, Quintus and Martius, into falling into the pit where Bassianus’s body lies, and they are arrested for his murder. Aaron then deceives Titus into believing that if he cuts off his own hand and sends it to the Emperor, his sons will be spared. Titus complies, but receives back his severed hand along with the heads of his executed sons.
Lavinia manages to reveal her attackers’ identities by writing in the dirt with a stick held in her mouth. Titus feigns madness while plotting revenge and sends weapons with threatening messages to Tamora’s sons. When Tamora gives birth to Aaron’s child, Aaron flees with the baby but is eventually captured. In the final act, Titus kills Tamora’s sons and serves them to her baked in a pie at a banquet. He then kills Lavinia to end her suffering, murders Tamora, and is immediately killed by Saturninus. Titus’s surviving son Lucius kills Saturninus and is proclaimed the new Emperor, ordering Aaron to be buried alive and vowing to restore order to Rome.
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