Translations we offer:

  • All's Well That Ends Well
  • Antony and Cleopatra
  • As You Like It
  • The Comedy of Errors
  • Coriolanus
  • Cymbeline
  • Hamlet
  • Henry IV, Part 1
  • Henry IV, Part 2
  • Henry V
  • Henry VI, Part 1
  • Henry VI, Part 2
  • Henry VI, Part 3
  • Henry VIII
  • Julius Caesar
  • King John
  • King Lear
  • Love's Labor's Lost
  • A Lover's Complaint
  • Macbeth
  • Measure for Measure
  • The Merchant of Venice
  • The Merry Wives of Windsor
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • Much Ado About Nothing
  • Othello
  • Pericles
  • The Rape of Lucrece
  • Richard II
  • Richard III
  • Romeo and Juliet
  • Shakespeare's Sonnets
  • The Taming of the Shrew
  • The Tempest
  • Timon of Athens
  • Titus Andronicus
  • Troilus and Cressida
  • Twelfth Night
  • The Two Gentlemen of Verona
  • Venus and Adonis
  • The Winter's Tale
The LitCharts.com logo.
Already a member? Sign in!
Sign in
Get LitCharts A+
Join LitCharts A+ and get instant access to our Pericles translation, plus so much more...

Enter GOWER

GOWER enters in front of the palace of Antioch.

Gower

To sing a song that old was sung, From ashes ancient Gower is come; Assuming man's infirmities, To glad your ear, and please your eyes. It hath been sung at festivals, On ember-eves and holy-ales; And lords and ladies in their lives Have read it for restoratives: The purchase is to make men glorious; Et bonum quo antiquius, eo melius. If you, born in these latter times, When wit's more ripe, accept my rhymes. And that to hear an old man sing May to your wishes pleasure bring I life would wish, and that I might Waste it for you, like taper-light. This Antioch, then, Antiochus the Great Built up, this city, for his chiefest seat: The fairest in all Syria, I tell you what mine authors say: This king unto him took a fere, Who died and left a female heir, So buxom, blithe, and full of face, As heaven had lent her all his grace; With whom the father liking took, And her to incest did provoke: Bad child; worse father! to entice his own To evil should be done by none: But custom what they did begin Was with long use account no sin. The beauty of this sinful dame Made many princes thither frame, To seek her as a bed-fellow, In marriage-pleasures play-fellow: Which to prevent he made a law, To keep her still, and men in awe, That whoso ask'd her for his wife, His riddle told not, lost his life: So for her many a wight did die, As yon grim looks do testify. What now ensues, to the judgment of your eye I give, my cause who best can justify.

Gower

I'm John Gower, and I've come back to life (taking on the form of my weak body once again) to tell you an old story that never fails to please the ear and the eye. It's been told at parties, around the fire, over beers, and in storybooks for generations; men and women have read it to make themselves feel better. The point is to teach you how to be a better person. You know what they say: "the older and better the story, the better it makes you." And if you modern people (who are more clever than we used to be) will bear with my old-fashioned way of rhyming, you might enjoy what I, an old man, will bring to life on this stage by candlelight. This is Antioch, a city built by the great King Antiochus to be the most beautiful in Syria, and his capital. According to my sources, the king got married, but his wife died young, leaving him a beautiful, obedient daughter, blessed by the gods. The king took a liking to her, and forced her to commit incest. Bad girl! Evil father! No one should do such a thing to their own child. Of course, by the time our story begins, they'd been up to it for so long that they forgot it was wrong. Princes came from miles around to seek the princess's hand in marriage, hoping to make her their lifelong bedfellow. To prevent losing his daughter, the king made a law: whoever wanted to marry the princess would have to answer a riddle, and a wrong answer meant sudden death. Many poor men lost their lives that way, in pursuit of her, as you can see by the serious looks on their faces. What comes next I'll let you see for yourself; you can be the judge of why.

Exit

GOWER exits.

Understand every line of Pericles!
PDF downloads of all 1391 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish.
Learn more
Explanations of important quotes for every book you'll read this year. Page numbers, too.
Learn more
Teacher Editions for every literature guide we cover.
Learn more
Translations of every Shakespeare play and poem, including PDF downloads.
Learn more
Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Instant PDF downloads.
Learn more
PDF downloads of all 1922 of our lit guides, poetry guides, Shakescleare translations, and literary terms.
PDF downloads of all 1391 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish.
Learn more
Explanations for every quote we cover.
Detailed quotes explanations (and citation info) for every important quote on the site.
Learn more
Instant PDF downloads of 136 literary devices and terms.
Definitions and examples for 136 literary devices and terms. Instant PDF downloads.
Learn more
Compare and contrast related themes.
Compare and contrast Related Themes across different books.
Learn more
Teacher Editions for all 1391 titles we cover.
LitCharts Teacher Editions for every title we cover.
Learn more
Line-by-line modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem.
Line-by-line modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem.
Learn more
Advanced search across our collection.
Advanced Search. Find themes, quotes, symbols, and characters across our collection.
Learn more
Line-by-line explanations, plus analysis of poetic devices for lyric poems we cover.
Line-by-line explanations, plus analysis of poetic devices for every lyric poem we cover.
Learn more
Sign up for LitCharts A+

1. Enter your info

2. Choose your subscription plan

  • Please select a plan.

Yes, you save over $60.00/year if you choose the annual subscription!

3. Enter payment info

Subscriptions renew automatically. You will be charged $4.97 for your first month and $9.95 per month thereafter unless you cancel. You can cancel anytime before your next renewal date. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Service. Subscriptions renew automatically. You will be charged $29.70 for your first year and $59.40 per yer thereafter unless you cancel. You can cancel anytime before your next renewal date. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Service.

Clicking on the button below will take you to PayPal to complete your transaction.

Interested in a school, library, or other group license? Learn about group subscriptions.
PDFs

Literature Guide PDFs

LitCharts PDFs for every book you'll read this year.

Instant PDF downloads of all 1391 LitCharts literature guides and of every new one we publish. Try a free sample literature guide.
"Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!"
Quotes

Quotes Explanations

Find the perfect quote. Understand it perfectly. Then rock the citation, too.
For all 30,583 quotes we cover.
Find. Search every LitChart by chapter, theme, or character to find just the quote you need.
Understand. Grasp the quote's significance with our detailed Explanation and Analysis.
Cite. Get the quote's page or line number, or a perfect citation with our Cite this Quote button.
Teacher editions

Teacher Editions

Close reading made easy for students.
Time saved for teachers.
For every book we cover.

Teacher Edition Contents

Close Reading Organizers
Character Analysis Organizers
Symbol Analysis Organizers
Theme Analysis Organizers
Quote Analysis Organizers
Theme Visualization Project

Common Core-aligned

""
Try a free and complete sample Teacher Edition.

Line-by-line translations of every one of Shakespeare's 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 3 longer poems.

Every translation available online and as a PDF download. Try a free sample Shakespeare translation.
"Every teacher of literature should use these translations. They completely demystify Shakespeare. Students love them!"
Original
Romeo
(aside) She speaks.
O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art
As glorious to this night, being o’er my head,
As is a winged messenger of heaven
Unto the white, upturnèd, wondering eyes
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him
When he bestrides the lazy-puffing clouds
And sails upon the bosom of the air.
Juliet
O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art though Romeo?
Deny they father and refuse they name.
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
Modern
Romeo
(to himself) She speaks. Speak again, bright angel! For tonight you are as glorious, there up above me, as a winged messenger of heaven who makes mortals fall onto their backs to gaze up with awestruck eyes as he strides across the lazy clouds and sails through the air.
Juliet
O Romeo, Romeo! Why must you be Romeo? Deny your father and give up your name. Or, if you won’t change your name, just swear your love to me and I’ll give up being a Capulet.
Lit terms
Literary Terms and Devices
Definitions and examples for every literary term and device you need to know.
Plus a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 terms in one place.
Try a free sample literary term PDF.
Advanced search
Advanced Search
Refine any search. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more.
Advanced search
Related themes
Related Themes
Comparing and contrasting texts? Find where any theme occurs across all of LitCharts in seconds.
Related themes
Poetry guides
Poetry Guides
Line-by-line explanations and analysis of figurative language and poetic devices.
For every lyric poem we cover.
Poetry guides
Sign up for LitCharts A+
Company
About Us Our Story Jobs
Connect
Help Contact Blog Facebook Twitter
Mobile Apps
iOS Android
Legal
Terms of Service Privacy Policy GDPR
Home About Story Contact Help
Copyright © 2021 All Rights Reserved
Terms Privacy GDPR