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With all the fierce endeavour of your wit,

To enforce the pained impotent to smile.

BEROWNE.

To move wild laughter in the throat of death?

It cannot be; it is impossible;

Mirth cannot move a soul in agony.

ROSALINE.

Why, that's the way to choke a gibing spirit,

Whose influence is begot of that loose grace

Which shallow laughing hearers give to fools.

A jest's prosperity lies in the ear

Of him that hears it, never in the tongue

Of him that makes it; then, if sickly ears,

Deaf'd with the clamours of their own dear groans,

Will hear your idle scorns, continue then,

And I will have you and that fault withal.

But if they will not, throw away that spirit,

And I shall find you empty of that fault,

Right joyful of your reformation.

BEROWNE.

A twelvemonth? Well, befall what will befall,

I'll jest a twelvemonth in an hospital.

PRINCESS OF FRANCE.

[To the King] Ay, sweet my lord, and so I

take my leave.

KING.

No, madam; we will bring you on your way.

BEROWNE.

Our wooing doth not end like an old play:

Jack hath not Jill. These ladies' courtesy

Might well have made our sport a comedy.

KING.

Come, sir, it wants a twelvemonth an' a day,

And then 'twill end.

BEROWNE.

That's too long for a play.

Re-enter ARMADO

ARMADO.

Sweet Majesty, vouchsafe me-

PRINCESS OF FRANCE.

Was not that not Hector?

DUMAIN.

The worthy knight of Troy.

ARMADO.

I will kiss thy royal finger, and take leave. I am a

votary: I have vow'd to Jaquenetta to hold the plough for her

sweet love three year. But, most esteemed greatness, will you

hear the dialogue that the two learned men have compiled in

praise of the Owl and the Cuckoo? It should have followed in the end of our show.

KING.

Call them forth quickly; we will do so.

ARMADO.

Holla! approach.

[Enter All]

This side is Hiems, Winter; this Ver, the Spring- the one

maintained by the Owl, th' other by the Cuckoo. Ver, begin.

SPRING

When daisies pied and violets blue

And lady-smocks all silver-white

And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue

Do paint the meadows with delight,

The cuckoo then on every tree

Mocks married men, for thus sings he:

'Cuckoo;

Cuckoo, cuckoo'- O word of fear,

Unpleasing to a married ear!

When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,

And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks;

When turtles tread, and rooks and daws,

And maidens bleach their summer smocks;

The cuckoo then on every tree

Mocks married men, for thus sings he:

'Cuckoo;

Cuckoo, cuckoo'- O word of fear,

Unpleasing to a married ear!

WINTER

When icicles hang by the wall,

And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,

And Tom bears logs into the hall,

And milk comes frozen home in pail,

When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul,

Then nightly sings the staring owl:

'Tu-who;

Tu-whit, Tu-who'- A merry note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

When all aloud the wind doth blow,

And coughing drowns the parson's saw,

And birds sit brooding in the snow,

And Marian's nose looks red and raw,

When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,

Then nightly sings the staring owl:

'Tu-who;

Tu-whit, To-who'- A merry note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

ARMADO.

The words of Mercury are harsh after the songs of Apollo.

You that way: we this way. Exeunt

ROMEO AND JULIET

This tragedy was created by Shakespeare in 1592 and has become one of the most famous works of literature ever written. The plot is based on an Italian tale, translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1582. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both texts, but added the supporting characters Mercutio and Paris himself. Shakespeare's use of dramatic structure, especially switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of sub-plots to complement the story, have been identified as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play is well renowned for its eternal tale of forbidden love, which has inspired filmmakers