ADRIANA

His company must do his minions grace,

Whilst I at home starve for a merry look.
Hath homely age th' alluring beauty took
From my poor cheek? Then he hath wasted it.
Are my discourses dull? Barren my wit?
If voluble and sharp discourse be marred,
Unkindness blunts it more than marble hard.
Do their gay vestments his affections bait?
Thats not my fault; hes master of my state.
What ruins are in me that can be found
By him not ruined? Then is he the ground
Of my defeatures. My decayd fair
A sunny look of his would soon repair.
But, too unruly deer, he breaks the pale
And feeds from home. Poor I am but his stale.
Unfeeling fools can with such wrongs dispense.
I know his eye doth homage otherwhere,
Or else what lets it but he would be here?
Sister, you know he promised me a chain.
Would that alone o' love he would detain,
So he would keep fair quarter with his bed.
I see the jewel best enameld
Will lose his beauty. Yet the gold bides still
That others touch, and often touching will
Wear gold; yet no man that hath a name
By falsehood and corruption doth it shame.
Since that my beauty cannot please his eye,
Ill weep whats left away, and weeping die.

ADRIANA
He feels the need to grace all his other tramps with
his presence while I sit at home starving for a smile
from him. Has homely old age taken the alluring
beauty from my poor cheeks? Thats because he
has squandered my beauty. Am I boring? Have I
lost my wit? If my conversation is no longer free and
clever, thats because hes dulled itIm like a
sharp tool hes blunted with a hard piece of marble.
Is he charmed by their pretty clothes? Well, thats
not my faulthes the one in charge of my
spending. What faults can you find in me that
werent first caused by him? One smile from him
would repair my decayed beauty. But like an unruly
deer, hes always trespassing past the park borders
and straying away from home to feed in new
pastures. I am nothing but a poor, used fool.
Only someone who doesnt feel this pain could tell
me to ignore it. I know his eyes are worshiping
some other woman, or why wouldnt he be here?
Sister, you know he promised to give me a
necklace. I would gladly do without that if he would
only stay faithful to me. Even the best jewel can be
tarnished. Gold, however, cant be corrupted
though it can be worn down if its touched too often.
And no man with a reputation will tarnish that name
with lies and bad behavior. Since my beauty no
longer pleases my husband, Ill weep away whats
left and then die with weeping.