A Shakespeare Translation Exercise
KNOWING THE CODE
TRANSLATING SHAKESPEARE…
Many people “give up” on Shakespeare before
they even get started, because they figure that
the language he wrote in is “too difficult,” or
that it makes no sense to a modern audience
today.
 However, like many things, understanding
Shakespeare is all just a matter of “knowing
the code”—it’s easy, once you know what to
look for!

CAN YOU TRANSLATE THIS CODE?

I, like, totally pwned those
n00bs at COD last night on
Live! I mean, they were way
salty about it. It was like they
were afk the whole time! They
got rekt. Tomorrow, when I
raid in WoW, I’m getting such
phat lewts from the bosses
that I’ll pwn, too. I play a
Tauren Dr00!d, and I put out
mad dps. The last boss is a
total tank-n-spank, so it’ll be
almost like we’re in god mode.
I’m so l33t!

I beat all those new players at
Call of Duty last night on Xbox
Live! They were pretty upset
about it. It was as if they were
away from their keyboards the
whole time. They got totally
beaten. Tomorrow, when I go to
a raid on World of Warcraft, I’ll
get such good gear from the
boss fights that I’ll win that, too.
I play a Tauren druid, and I do
excellent damage per second.
The last boss is beatable by just
standing there and hitting it, so
it’ll be almost like we’re
cheating to win. I’m so
awesome!
CAN YOU TRANSLATE THIS CODE?
l(a

le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
l
iness
(by ee cummings)
It says: “Loneliness (a
leaf falls).” ee cummings
was a poet who played
with the way things were
arranged on a page to
add meaning to his
poetry. The design here
is supposed to give the
image of a lonely single
leaf drifting to the
ground.
CAN YOU TRANSLATE THIS CODE?
o hai
r u doin hw?
y?
idk bord
o rly? y?
2 mch txtng
i no. lol
rofl
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Oh, hi.
Are you doing
homework?
Why?
I don’t know—I’m bored.
Oh really? Why?
Too much texting.
I know. (laugh out loud)
(Rolls on the floor
laughing.)
CAN YOU TRANSLATE THE CODE

A triumvirate of murine
rodents totally deprived of
ophthalmic acuity were
observed in a state of
rapid locomotion in
pursuit of an
agriculturalist’s uxorial
adjunct. Said adjunct
then performed a triple
caudectomy utilizing an
acutely-honed bladed
instrument generally used
for subdivision of edible
tissue.

Three blind mice:
See how they run.
They all ran after the
farmer’s wife.
She cut off their tails with a
carving knife.
CAN YOU TRANSLATE THIS?
YYUR
YYUB
ICUR
YY4ME!
Too wise you are
Too wise you be
I see you are
Too wise for me!
CAN YOU TRANSLATE THIS?
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips’ red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Wait! Hold up!
That’s…
Shakespeare!
I can’t possibly
understand
Shakespeare!
 Oh
yes, you
can!
SHAKESPEARE’S VERSION
THE TRANSLATION
My mistress’ eyes are nothing
like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her
lips’ red:
If snow be white, why then her
breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires
grow on her head.
My girlfriend has dark eyes;
Her lips have no real color to
them:
Her skin is unfashionably tan.
Her hair is black and coarse.
SHAKESPEARE IN TRANSLATION…
SHAKESPEARE'S VERSION
THE TRANSLATION
I have seen roses damask’d,
red and white,
But no such roses see I in her
cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there
more delight
Than in the breath that from my
mistress reeks.
I’ve seen lots of roses: pink,
red, and white,
But her cheeks are really pale;
And some perfumes smell a lot
better
Than my girlfriend’s breath,
which stinks!
SHAKESPEARE IN TRANSLATION…
SHAKESPEARE’S VERSION
THE TRANSLATION
I love to hear her speak, yet
well I know
That music hath a far more
pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess
go,
My mistress, when she walks,
treads on the ground:
I like to listen to her talk, but
Music sure sounds a lot better
than she does:
I’ve never seen an angel,
But my girlfriend sure isn’t one:
SHAKESPEARE IN TRANSLATION…
SHAKESPEARE’S VERSION
THE TRANSLATION
And yet, by heaven, I think my
love as rare
An still, I think my love is more
special
As any she belied with false
compare.
Than anyone else you could
compare her to.
SHAKESPEARE IN TRANSLATION…
SHAKESPEARE IN TRANSLATION
See how much nicer poems are when
Shakespeare says them? It’s all a matter of
taking the patience to figure things out.
 Learn the lingo (vocabulary),
 understand the placement (syntax),
 and figure out the point (meaning),
and you’ve cracked the Shakespeare code!