Saturday 17 September 2011

Pharmacy in Shakespeare's time




I do remember an apothecary,
And here about shed wells,
And in his needy shop a tortoise hung,
An alligator stuff’d,
and other skins
Of ill-shaped fishes;
and about his shelves
A beggarly account of empty boxes,
Green earthen pots, bladders and musty seeds,
Remnants of packthread and old cakes of roses,
Were thinly scatter’d, to make up a show.

(Romeo and Juliet, Act V)

1 comment:

Salah said...

Modern translation:

I do remember a pharmacist,
And lives near here, who I noticed was dressed in
In tattered weeds, with overwhelming eyebrows,
Choosing the simple life. He looked very thin,
As if sharp misery had worn him down to the bones;
And in his poor shop a turtle was hanging,
And a stuffed alligator, and other skins
Of ill-shaped fishes, and on his shelves he had
A poverty-stricken collection of empty boxes, and
Green earthen pots, animal bladders, and musty smelling seeds,
Remnants of leftover twine, and old cakes of roses,
Were thinly scattered around, to make up a display

http://www.enotes.com/romeo-and-juliet-text/act-v-scene-i