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View Full Version : !!! EMERGENCY !!! help with translation



juggala
08-07-2007, 02:32 PM
i need help translating this part of act 5 sc. 2

TITUS :

Come, come, Lavinia; look, thy foes are bound.—

Sirs, stop their mouths, let them not speak to me;

But let them hear what fearful words I utter.—

O villains, Chiron and Demetrius!

Here stands the spring whom you have stain'd with mud;

This goodly summer with your winter mix'd.

You kill'd her husband; and for that vile fault

Two of her brothers were condemn'd to death,

My hand cut off and made a merry jest;

Both her sweet hands, her tongue, and that, more dear

Than hands or tongue, her spotless chastity,

Inhuman traitors, you constrain'd and forc'd.

What would you say, if I should let you speak?

Villains, for shame you could not beg for grace.

Hark, wretches! how I mean to martyr you.

This one hand yet is left to cut your throats,

Whiles that Lavinia 'tween her stumps doth hold

The basin that receives your guilty blood.

You know your mother means to feast with me,

And calls herself Revenge, and thinks me mad:—

Hark, villains! I will grind your bones to dust,

And with your blood and it I'll make a paste;

And of the paste a coffin I will rear,

And make two pasties of your shameful heads;

And bid that strumpet, your unhallow'd dam,

Like to the earth, swallow her own increase.

This is the feast that I have bid her to,

And this the banquet she shall surfeit on;

For worse than Philomel you us'd my daughter,

And worse than Progne I will be reveng'd:

And now prepare your throats. Lavinia, come


[He cuts their throats.]


Receive the blood: and when that they are dead,

Let me go grind their bones to powder small,

And with this hateful liquor temper it;

And in that paste let their vile heads be bak'd.

Come, come, be every one officious

To make this banquet; which I wish may prove

More stern and bloody than the Centaurs' feast.

So, now bring them in, for I will play the cook,

And see them ready against their mother comes.

Logos
08-07-2007, 03:10 PM
What language are you wanting it translated to?

AuntShecky
08-08-2007, 01:48 PM
Good reply, Logos.
Actually, Jaggala, the passage means exactly what it says. Titus kills the victims right on stage and wants to have 'em cooked up in a pie. If my memory serves --it's been decades since I've been in school-- Titus Andronicus is an early effort by the Bard,when he bought into the Revenge tragedy genre so popular in the late 16th ,early 17th centuries. This is not your father's Shakespeare, that's for sure.
We live in a really violent age, but this particular type of brutal savagery makes us squeamish.. Then again, we've got all those "Nightmare on Elm Street" and Quentin Tarantino bloodbaths.
The current trend is to dumb down Shakespeare. I wouldn't be surprised to see somebody produce a musical comedy version of Titus Andronicus on Broadway:
Titus! Don't forget that exclamation point!

juggala
08-09-2007, 02:00 AM
i just need it word for word in modern day english
any help would be greatlly appricated

Seraph404
10-14-2007, 02:48 PM
Come here, Lavinia. See, the men who raped you are bound.

Men, gag them so they can’t speak but keep their ears uncovered.

Chiron and Demetrius, you villains!

Here stands the woman you raped. You killed her husband; and as a result, two of her brothers were executed; I was tricked into cutting of my hand as a joke; both her hands and tongue were cut off, but even worse, her virginity was taken.

Inhuman traitors, now you are bound up. If I were to allow you to speak, what would you say? Your villainy is so great that you cannot beg for grace. You wretches! Just wait and see what I’ll do to you. My remaining hand will cut your throats, while Lavina holds a basin between her stumps to catch your guilty blood. You are aware that your mother intends to feast with me, and dresses up like Revenge, and thinks that I am insane:

Villains! I will grind your bones to dust and make a paste with your blood; and from the paste, I will make a pastry shell that shall be your coffin, and I’ll make two pies of your shameful heads; and I’ll feed it to that harlot that is your mother and, like the earth, she shall swallow her own children. This is the feast that I have invited her to, and she shall overindulge in this banquet; for you have abused my daughter worse than Philomel abused his victim, and my revenge will be worse than Progne’: and now get ready for me to slice your throats. Lavinia, come here.

[he cuts their throats]

Catch the blood that flows from their necks with the basin that you hold: and when they are dead, let me grind their bones to a small powder, and balance it with this liquor; and then that paste holding their vile heads will bake. Come, come, everyone, prepare this banquet, which might be more stern and bloody than the Centaurs’ feast, in a dutiful and efficient manner. So now, bring the dead bodies in, for I will be the cook, and make sure they are ready for when their mother comes.