Coriolanus in Plain and Simple English (Digital Download)

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PURCHASE A COPY OF CORIOLANUS IN PLAIN AND SIMPLE ENGLISH NOW! Do you need to understand Shakespeare and want something more interactive? Try our free app, SwipeSpeare! EXCERPT OF CORIOLANUS IN PLAIN AND SIMPLE ENGLISH SCENE I. Rome. A street. [Enter a company of mutinous citizens, with staves, clubs, andother weapons.]FIRST CITIZEN.Before anything else happens, listen to me!Before we proceed any further, hear me speak.ALL.Speah, speech!Speak, speak.FIRST CITIZEN.Is everyone here ready to die fighting instead of starving to death?You are all resolved rather to die than to famish?ALL.Hell yes!Resolved, resolved.FIRST CITIZEN.First of all, as you all know, Cauius Marcius is Public Enemy #1.First, you know Caius Marcius is chief enemy to the people.ALL.You said it!We know't, we know't.FIRST CITIZEN.Let’s kill him, and then we’ll buy grain for however much we want to pay!Let us kill him, and we'll have corn at our own price. Is't aAgreed?verdict?ALL.Let’s stopping talking about it and do it! C’mon, let’s go!No more talking on't; let it be done: away, away!SECOND CITIZEN.Hold up a minute, folks.One word, good citizens.FIRST CITIZEN.They say we’re poor, and the noblemen are rich.We are accounted poor citizens; the patricians good.What the powers that be gorge on would keep us from starving; if they just gaveWhat authority surfeits on would relieve us; if they would yieldus their extra food, as long it’s not spoiled, we would thinkus but the superfluity, while it were wholesome, we might guessthat they were saving us for humanitarian reasons; but they think we’re too expensive:they relieved us humanely; but they think we are too dear: theour suffering, our miseryleanness that afflicts us, the object of our misery, is as an makes them feel richer; our suffering isinventory to particularize their abundance; our sufferance is atheir gain. Let’s get even by killing them with our pitchforks before wegain to them.--Let us revenge this with our pikes ere we becomebecome skinny as a rake: the gods know I’m only saying this stuff because I’m hungry,rakes: for the gods know I speak this in hunger for bread, not innot because I’m bloodthirsty.thirst for revenge.SECOND CITIZEN.Would you go after Caius Marcius more than the other noblemen?Would you proceed especially against Caius Marcius?FIRST CITIZEN.Yes, he’d be first: he’s a dog that attacks the common people.Against him first: he's a very dog to the commonalty.SECOND CITIZEN.Have you thought about everything he’s done for this country?Consider you what services he has done for his country?FIRST CITIZEN.Yeah, I thought about, and I would praise him for it,Very well; and could be content to give him good report for't,but I don’t need to because he’s proud of himself for doing it.but that he pays himself with being proud.SECOND CITIZEN.Don’t be so nasty.Nay, but speak not maliciously.FIRST CITIZEN.I’m telling you, all that famous stuff he did, he did to stroke his own ego:I say unto you, what he hath done famously he did it to that end:maybe men without consciences are happy to say he did it for histhough soft-conscienced men can be content to say it was for hiscountry, I know he did it to make his mama proud, and in part to make himself proud,country, he did it to please his mother, and to be partly proud;which he is, at least as proud as he is good.which he is, even to the altitude of his virtue.SECOND CITIZEN.You blame him for it, but he can’t help it—that’s just his nature. But at leastWhat he cannot help in his nature you account a vice in him. Youyou can’t call him greedy.must in no way say he is covetous.FIRST CITIZEN.Even if I can’t call him greedy, I can call him plenty of other names; he hasIf I must not, I need not be barren of accusations; he hathso many faults that I’d get tired of naming them, and have more to spare. [Shouts inside.]faults, with surplus, to tire in repetition. [Shouts within.]Who’s shouting? The other side of the city [Rome] is revolting, whyWhat shouts are these? The other side o' the city is risen: whyare we standing around talking? To the Capitoline Hill! [Location of the main temple.]stay we prating here? to the Capitol!ALL.C’mon, let’s go.Come, come.FIRST CITIZEN.Shut up! Who’s that?Soft! who comes here?SECOND CITIZEN.That’s Menenius Agrippa. He’s cool, he’s always been a friend to the working man.Worthy Menenius Agrippa; one that hath always loved the people.FIRST CITIZEN.Yeah, he’s alright; I wish the rest of the ruling class was like him!He's one honest enough; would all the rest were so![Enter MENENIUS AGRIPPA.]MENENIUS.What’s going on here? Where are you goingWhat work's, my countrymen, in hand? where go youwith those bats and sticks? What’s the matter? Please, tell me.With bats and clubs? the matter? speak, I pray you.FIRST CITIZEN.The Senate knows what we’re doing; they’ve knownOur business is not unknown to the senate; they have had inklingwhat we were going to do for two weeks now, and now we’ll do exactly what theythis fortnight what we intend to do, which now we'll show 'em inexpected. They say we poor dudes can’t get a date because we smell bad,deeds. They say poor suitors have strong breaths; they shall knowbut they’re going to find out that we are strong.we have strong arms too.MENENIUS.Hey, fellas, my friends, my neighbors, Why, masters, my good friends, mine honest neighbours,will you give up and go home?Will you undo yourselves?FIRST CITIZEN.No, we can’t take it any more!We cannot, sir; we are undone already.MENENIUS.I’m telling you, my friends,I tell you, friends, most charitable care the noblemen take good care of you. If you want to blame someoneHave the patricians of you. For your wants,for your problems and your hunger, you’d be better offYour suffering in this dearth, you may as wellattacking heaven with all your weapons than using themStrike at the heaven with your staves as lift themagainst the Roman government, which is so strongAgainst the Roman state; whose course will onthat it would crush you even if you had ten thousandThe way it takes, cracking ten thousand curbsmore ways to block it than you could everOf more strong link asunder than can everpossibly have. This recessionAppear in your impediment: for the dearth,was caused by the gods, not the rich, andThe gods, not the patricians, make it; andpraying to the gods, not fighting, is the only thing that will help. I’m sorryYour knees to them, not arms, must help. Alack,that times are so tough that you people all lost your minds,You are transported by calamityand are therefore even worse off, and that you’re all so crazy that you’re attackingThither where more attends you; and you slanderthe good people who run this country, and who love you like they were your fathers,The helms o' th' state, who care for you like fathers,even though you curse at them like enemies.When you curse them as enemies.FIRST CITIZEN.Yeah, right, they care sure care about us! They never care about us yet. They letCare for us! True, indeed! They ne'er cared for us yet. Suffer usus starve, even though they have buildings full of extra food; they made lawsto famish, and their storehouses crammed with grain; make edictsabout loan-sharking, but they benefit the loan-sharks; they undo any good lawfor usury, to support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome actthat was designed to hurt the rich, and make more bad lawsestablished against the rich, and provide more piercing statutesevery day to punish and enslave the poor. If the wars don’t take all our money,daily to chain up and restrain the poor. If the wars eat us notthey will; that’s how much they love us.up, they will; and there's all the love they bear us. MENENIUS.You have to admitEither you mustthat either you’re all just making trouble,Confess yourselves wondrous malicious,or you’re just stupid. Let me tell youOr be accus'd of folly. I shall tell youa little story: maybe you’ve heard it before,A pretty tale: it may be you have heard it;but since it supports my point, I think I’ll just But, since it serves my purpose, I will venturebore you with it one more time.To stale't a little more.FIRST CITIZEN.OK, I’ll listen; but don’t think you can make us forget ourWell, I'll hear it, sir; yet you must not think to fob off ourtroubles with a story. But, if you want you, go ahead and say it.disgrace with a tale: but, an't please you, deliver.MENENIUS.Once upon a time, all the organs in the human bodyThere was a time when all the body's membersrebelled against the belly, and accused it ofRebell'd against the belly; thus accus'd it:--of just sitting like a whirlpoolThat only like a gulf it did remainin the middle of the body, not doing anythingI' the midst o' the body, idle and unactive,but sucking up food and never doing any realStill cupboarding the viand, never bearingwork like the other organs; whereas the other organsLike labour with the rest; where th' other instrumentsdid things like seeing, hearing, thinking, teaching, walking, feeling,Did see and hear, devise, instruct, walk, feel,and, working together, did the biddingAnd, mutually participate, did ministerof the appetites and inclinationsUnto the appetite and affection commonof the body as a whole. The belly answered:Of the whole body. The belly answered,--FIRST CITIZEN.Well, what did the belly answer?Well, sir, what answer made the belly?MENENIUS.I will tell you. It replied with a smileSir, I shall tell you.--With a kind of smile, that wasn’t an ordinary smile, but was like this--Which ne'er came from the lungs, but even thus,--look, I’m making my belly smileFor, look you, I may make the belly smileas we speak—a smile that taunted As well as speak,--it tauntingly repliedthe angry organsTo the discontented members, the mutinous partsthat were jealous of what he received; just likeThat envied his receipt; even so most fitlyyou people trash talk the rich senators becauseAs you malign our senators for thatthey’re not like you.They are not such as you. Show more