Skip to content
Storgy

As You Like ItModern English

As You Like It, Act 4, Scene 2

Another part of the Forest

The original text and a plain modern English rendering, side by side. Free, no sign-up.

Which text to show for Act 4, Scene 2

Original

Modern English

  1. Enter Jaques and Lords, like foresters.

    Jaques and Lords come in, dressed like foresters.

  2. Jaques1

    Which is he that killed the deer?

    Which one of you killed the deer?

  3. First Lord2

    Sir, it was I.

    Sir, it was me.

  4. Jaques3

    Let’s present him to the Duke, like a Roman conqueror, and it would do well to set the deer’s horns upon his head for a branch of victory. Have you no song, forester, for this purpose?

    Let's show him to the Duke like a Roman conqueror, and it would be a good idea to set the deer's horns on his head as a victory garland. Have you no song, forester, for this occasion?

  5. Second Lord6

    Yes, sir.

    Yes, sir.

  6. Jaques7

    Sing it. ’Tis no matter how it be in tune, so it make noise enough.

    Sing it. It doesn't matter whether it's in tune, so long as it makes enough noise.

  7. Jaques8

    SONG

    SONG

  8. Second Lord9

    [Sings.] What shall he have that killed the deer? His leather skin and horns to wear. Then sing him home: [The rest shall bear this burden.] Take thou no scorn to wear the horn. It was a crest ere thou wast born. Thy father’s father wore it And thy father bore it. The horn, the horn, the lusty horn Is not a thing to laugh to scorn.

    [He sings.] What shall the man have who killed the deer? His leather skin and horns to wear. Then sing him home: [The others join in this refrain.] Don't be ashamed to wear the horn. It was a coat of arms before you were born. Your father's father wore it, and your father carried it. The horn, the horn, the sturdy horn is not a thing to be laughed at.

  9. Exeunt.

    They all leave.

Ask about this work

The reader has this scene in front of it — the original text and the modern English beside it, line by line — along with the act’s summary. Ask what a speech means, what a character is deciding, or where the language turns.

It cites the chapter or the line it is working from, and it says so plainly when the guide doesn’t cover something. It’s instructed never to write an essay, a paragraph or an answer for you to hand in, and never to grade anything — it will show you how to approach the question instead.

TRY

Explain lines 12–20 in plain terms.What is the speaker actually deciding in this scene?Where does the language turn, and what does the turn do?

Sign in to ask the reader about this work — 1 credit covers three messages.

Create an accountSign in

Original text: Project Gutenberg edition #1523 (public domain, edited by the PG Shakespeare Team). Modern English rendering by Storgy.