Original: So shaken as we are, so wan with care,
Modern: As troubled as we are, so pale from worry,

Original: Find we a time for frighted peace to pant,
Modern: We find a moment for frightened peace to catch its breath,

Original: And breathe short-winded accents of new broils
Modern: And speak in gasps about new conflicts

Original: To be commenced in strands afar remote.
Modern: That will begin in distant foreign lands.

Original: No more the thirsty entrance of this soil
Modern: No longer will our hungry English ground

Original: Shall daub her lips with her own children’s blood;
Modern: Stain its mouth with the blood of its own people;

Original: Nor more shall trenching war channel her fields,
Modern: No more will war dig trenches through our countryside,

Original: Nor bruise her flowerets with the armed hoofs
Modern: Or crush our flowers with the iron hooves

Original: Of hostile paces: those opposed eyes,
Modern: Of enemy horses: those opposing forces,

Original: Which, like the meteors of a troubled heaven,
Modern: Which, like shooting stars in a stormy sky,

Original: All of one nature, of one substance bred,
Modern: All of the same people, born from the same nation,

Original: Did lately meet in the intestine shock
Modern: Have recently clashed in the internal violence

Original: And furious close of civil butchery
Modern: And fierce fighting of civil war

Original: Shall now, in mutual well-beseeming ranks,
Modern: Will now, in proper organized formations,

Original: March all one way and be no more opposed
Modern: March together in one direction and no longer fight

Original: Against acquaintance, kindred and allies:
Modern: Against friends, family and allies:

Original: The edge of war, like an ill-sheathed knife,
Modern: The blade of war, like a poorly covered knife,

Original: No more shall cut his master. Therefore, friends,
Modern: Will no longer wound its owner. So, my friends,

Original: As far as to the sepulchre of Christ,
Modern: All the way to the tomb of Christ,

Original: Whose soldier now, under whose blessed cross
Modern: Whose soldiers we now are, under whose holy cross

Original: We are impressed and engaged to fight,
Modern: We are enlisted and committed to fight,

Original: Forthwith a power of English shall we levy;
Modern: Right away we shall raise an English army;

Original: Whose arms were moulded in their mothers’ womb
Modern: Whose arms were shaped in their mothers’ wombs

Original: To chase these pagans in those holy fields
Modern: To drive out these non-believers from those sacred lands

Original: Over whose acres walk’d those blessed feet
Modern: Across whose ground walked those blessed feet

Original: Which fourteen hundred years ago were nail’d
Modern: Which fourteen hundred years ago were nailed

Original: For our advantage on the bitter cross.
Modern: For our salvation to the cruel cross.

Original: But this our purpose now is twelve month old,
Modern: But this plan of ours is now a year old,

Original: And bootless ‘tis to tell you we will go:
Modern: And it’s useless to tell you we will go:

Original: Therefore we meet not now. Then let me hear
Modern: That’s not why we’re meeting now. So let me hear

Original: Of you, my gentle cousin Westmoreland,
Modern: From you, my noble cousin Westmoreland,

Original: What yesternight our council did decree
Modern: What last night our council decided

Original: In forwarding this dear expedience.
Modern: About moving forward with this important plan.

In the opening scene of Henry IV, Part 1, King Henry IV addresses his court, expressing his weariness with civil war and his desire to lead a crusade to the Holy Land to atone for his role in Richard II’s death. The King reveals his plans to journey to Jerusalem, but these hopes are quickly dashed when the Earl of Westmorland brings troubling news from the Welsh and Scottish borders. Westmorland reports that Edmund Mortimer has been defeated and captured by the Welsh rebel Owen Glendower, and that many English soldiers have been killed, with their bodies desecrated by Welsh women.

However, Westmorland also brings encouraging news from the north, where Harry Percy (known as Hotspur), son of the Earl of Northumberland, has achieved a great victory against the Scots at Holmedon. Hotspur has taken many noble prisoners, including the Earl of Douglas. King Henry expresses admiration for young Hotspur’s valor and privately wishes that his own son, Prince Hal, possessed such honor and military prowess. The scene concludes with the King’s announcement that he will postpone his crusade plans, as domestic rebellions require his immediate attention, and he summons the Percy family to court to discuss the prisoners taken at Holmedon.

Henry IV, Part I follows the political and personal struggles of King Henry IV as he faces rebellion from powerful nobles while dealing with his wayward son, Prince Hal. The play opens with Henry’s guilt over having deposed Richard II and his disappointment in his eldest son, who spends his time in taverns with the disreputable Sir John Falstaff rather than at court. Meanwhile, the Percy family—led by Henry “Hotspur” Percy, his father the Earl of Northumberland, and his uncle the Earl of Worcester—grows increasingly resentful of the king’s treatment of them despite their crucial role in placing him on the throne.

The Percys form an alliance with Welsh rebel Owen Glendower and Scottish rebel the Earl of Douglas to overthrow Henry IV. Hotspur, a fiery young warrior obsessed with honor, becomes the rebellion’s military leader. Simultaneously, Prince Hal reveals in soliloquy that he deliberately maintains his dissolute reputation to make his eventual reformation more impressive. When his father confronts him about his behavior and unfavorably compares him to the noble Hotspur, Hal promises to redeem himself by defeating his rival in battle.

The rebellion comes to a head at the Battle of Shrewsbury, where the royal forces face the rebel army. During the battle, Prince Hal saves his father’s life and fulfills his promise by killing Hotspur in single combat, finally proving his worthiness as heir to the throne. Falstaff, who has been cowardly throughout the battle, claims credit for Hotspur’s death after discovering the body. The king’s forces win the battle, with Worcester and Douglas captured, though some rebels escape. The play concludes with the king’s victory secured but the realm’s troubles not entirely resolved, as other rebels remain at large and the crown’s stability depends on continued military action.