William Shakespeare - The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

But love, fair looks, and true obedience;

Too little payment for so great a debt.

Such duty as the subject owes the prince,

Even such a woman oweth to her husband;

And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour,

And not obedient to his honest will,

What is she but a foul contending rebel

And graceless traitor to her loving lord?—

I am asham’d that women are so simple

To offer war where they should kneel for peace,

Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,

When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.

Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth,

Unapt to toll and trouble in the world,

But that our soft conditions and our hearts

Should well agree with our external parts?

Come, come, you froward and unable worms!

My mind hath been as big as one of yours,

My heart as great, my reason haply more,

To bandy word for word and frown for frown;

But now I see our lances are but straws,

Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,

That seeming to be most which we indeed least are.

Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot,

And place your hands below your husband’s foot:

In token of which duty, if he please,

My hand is ready; may it do him ease.

PETRUCHIO.

Why, there’s a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate.

LUCENTIO.

Well, go thy ways, old lad, for thou shalt ha’t.

VINCENTIO.

‘Tis a good hearing when children are toward.

LUCENTIO.

But a harsh hearing when women are froward.

PETRUCHIO.

Come, Kate, we’ll to bed.

We three are married, but you two are sped.

‘Twas I won the wager,

[To LUCENTIO.] though you hit the white;

And being a winner, God give you good night!

[Exeunt PETRUCHIO and KATHERINA.]

HORTENSIO.

Now go thy ways; thou hast tam’d a curst shrew.

LUCENTIO.

‘Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tam’d so.

[Exeunt.]

THE END

Table of Contents

By William Shakespeare

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

ALONSO, King of Naples

SEBASTIAN, his Brother

PROSPERO, the right Duke of Milan

ANTONIO, his Brother, the usurping Duke of Milan

FERDINAND, Son to the King of Naples

GONZALO, an honest old counsellor

ADRIAN, Lord

FRANCISCO,Lord

CALIBAN, a savage and deformed Slave

TRINCULO, a Jester

STEPHANO, a drunken Butler

MASTER OF A SHIP

BOATSWAIN

MARINERS

MIRANDA, Daughter to Prospero

ARIEL, an airy Spirit

IRIS, presented by Spirits

CERES, presented by Spirits

JUNO, presented by Spirits

NYMPHS, presented by Spirits

REAPERS, presented by Spirits

Other Spirits attending on Prospero

SCENE: The sea, with a Ship; afterwards an Island

ACT 1

SCENE 1 [On a ship at sea; a tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard]

[Enter a SHIPMASTER and a BOATSWAIN severally]

MASTER.

Boatswain!

BOATSWAIN.

Here, master: what cheer?

MASTER. Good! Speak to the mariners: fall to’t yarely, or we run ourselves aground: bestir, bestir.

[Exit]

[Enter MARINERS]

BOATSWAIN. Heigh, my hearts! cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! yare, yare! Take in the topsail. Tend to th’ master’s whistle.—Blow till thou burst thy wind, if room enough.

[Enter ALONSO, SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, FERDINAND, GONZALO, and

OTHERS]

ALONSO.

Good boatswain, have care. Where’s the master?

Play the men.

BOATSWAIN.

I pray now, keep below.

ANTONIO.

Where is the master, boson?

BOATSWAIN. Do you not hear him? You mar our labour: keep your cabins: you do assist the storm.

GONZALO.

Nay, good, be patient.

BOATSWAIN. When the sea is. Hence! What cares these roarers for the name of king? To cabin! silence! Trouble us not.

GONZALO.

Good, yet remember whom thou hast aboard.

BOATSWAIN. None that I more love than myself. You are counsellor: if you can command these elements to silence, and work the peace of the present, we will not hand a rope more. Use your authority: if you cannot, give thanks you have lived so long, and make yourself ready in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so hap.—Cheerly, good hearts!—Out of our way, I say.

[Exit]

GONZALO. I have great comfort from this fellow. Methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him: his complexion is perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his hanging! make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth little advantage! If he be not born to be hang’d, our case is miserable.

[Exeunt]

[Re-enter BOATSWAIN]

BOATSWAIN. Down with the topmast! yare! lower, lower! Bring her to try wi’ th’ maincourse. [A cry within] A plague upon this howling! They are louder than the weather or our office.—

[Re-enter SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, and GONZALO]

Yet again! What do you here? Shall we give o’er, and drown? Have you a mind to sink?

SEBASTIAN. A pox o’ your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, incharitable dog!

BOATSWAIN.

Work you, then.

ANTONIO. Hang, cur, hang! you whoreson, insolent noisemaker, we are less afraid to be drowned than thou art.

GONZALO. I’ll warrant him for drowning, though the ship were no stronger than a nutshell, and as leaky as an unstanched wench.

BOATSWAIN. Lay her a-hold, a-hold! set her two courses: off to sea again: lay her off.

[Enter MARINERS, Wet]

MARINERS.

All lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost!

[Exeunt]

BOATSWAIN.

What, must our mouths be cold?

GONZALO.

The King and Prince at prayers! let us assist them,

For our case is as theirs.

SEBASTIAN.

I am out of patience.

ANTONIO.

We are merely cheated of our lives by drunkards.—

This wide-chapp’d rascal—would thou might’st lie drowning

The washing of ten tides!

GONZALO.

He’ll be hang’d yet,

Though every drop of water swear against it,

And gape at wid’st to glut him.

[A confused noise within:—‘Mercy on us!’—

‘We split, we split!’—‘Farewell, my wife and children!’—

‘Farewell, brother!’—‘We split, we split, we split!’—]

ANTONIO.

Let’s all sink wi’ the King.

[Exit]

SEBASTIAN.

Let’s take leave of him.

[Exit]

GONZALO. Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground; long heath, brown furze, any thing. The wills above be done! but I would fain die dry death.

[Exit]

SCENE 2

[The Island. Before the cell of PROSPERO]

[Enter PROSPERO and MIRANDA]

MIRANDA.

If by your art, my dearest father, you have

Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.

The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,

But that the sea, mounting to th’ welkin’s cheek,

Dashes the fire out. O! I have suffered

With those that I saw suffer: a brave vessel,

Who had, no doubt, some noble creatures in her,

Dash’d all to pieces. O! the cry did knock

Against my very heart. Poor souls, they perish’d.

Had I been any god of power, I would

Have sunk the sea within the earth, or e’er

It should the good ship so have swallow’d and

The fraughting souls within her.

PROSPERO.

Be collected:

No more amazement: tell your piteous heart

There’s no harm done.

MIRANDA.

O! woe the day!

PROSPERO.

No harm.

I have done nothing but in care of thee,

Of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter, who

Art ignorant of what thou art, nought knowing

Of whence I am: nor that I am more better

Than Prospero, master of a full poor cell,