Original: God pardon thee! yet let me wonder, Harry,
Modern: May God forgive you! But let me express my confusion, Harry,

Original: At thy affections, which do hold a wing
Modern: At your interests and behavior, which have taken a direction

Original: Quite from the flight of all thy ancestors.
Modern: Completely different from the path of all your ancestors.

Original: Thy place in council thou hast rudely lost.
Modern: You’ve carelessly lost your seat on the royal council.

Original: Which by thy younger brother is supplied,
Modern: Which has been filled by your younger brother,

Original: And art almost an alien to the hearts
Modern: And you’ve become almost a stranger to the affections

Original: Of all the court and princes of my blood:
Modern: Of everyone at court and the princes of my family:

Original: The hope and expectation of thy time
Modern: The hope and promise of your generation

Original: Is ruin’d, and the soul of every man
Modern: Is destroyed, and deep down every man

Original: Prophetically doth forethink thy fall.
Modern: Predicts your downfall like a prophecy.

Original: Had I so lavish of my presence been,
Modern: If I had been so careless with my public appearances,

Original: So common-hackney’d in the eyes of men,
Modern: So overexposed and common in people’s eyes,

Original: So stale and cheap to vulgar company,
Modern: So ordinary and available to the general public,

Original: Opinion, that did help me to the crown,
Modern: Public opinion, which helped me win the crown,

Original: Had still kept loyal to possession
Modern: Would have stayed loyal to whoever was already king

Original: And left me in reputeless banishment,
Modern: And left me in exile with no reputation,

Original: A fellow of no mark nor likelihood.
Modern: A nobody with no future prospects.

Original: By being seldom seen, I could not stir
Modern: By rarely appearing in public, I couldn’t move

Original: But like a comet I was wonder’d at;
Modern: Without being marveled at like a rare comet;

Original: That men would tell their children ‘This is he;’
Modern: So that men would point me out to their children saying “That’s him;”

Original: Others would say ‘Where, which is Bolingbroke?’
Modern: Others would ask “Where, which one is Bolingbroke?”

Original: And then I stole all courtesy from heaven,
Modern: And then I borrowed gracious behavior from heaven itself,

Original: And dress’d myself in such humility
Modern: And presented myself with such humility

Original: That I did pluck allegiance from men’s hearts,
Modern: That I pulled loyalty right out of men’s hearts,

Original: Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths,
Modern: And loud cheers and greetings from their mouths,

Original: Even in the presence of the crowned king.
Modern: Even when standing right in front of the crowned king.

Original: Thus did I keep my person fresh and new;
Modern: This is how I kept myself seeming fresh and exciting;

Original: My presence, like a robe pontifical,
Modern: My presence, like a pope’s ceremonial robes,

Original: Ne’er seen but wonder’d at: and so my state,
Modern: Was never seen without causing wonder: and so my status,

Original: Seldom but sumptuous, showed like a feast
Modern: Rare but impressive, appeared like a grand feast

Original: And won by rareness such solemnity.
Modern: And gained respect and seriousness through its rarity.

Original: The skipping king, he ambled up and down
Modern: That frivolous king, he wandered around

Original: With shallow jesters and rash bavin wits,
Modern: With superficial jokers and quick-burning fools,

Original: Soon kindled and soon burnt; carded his state,
Modern: Easily excited but quickly forgotten; he degraded his royal dignity,

Original: Mingled his royalty with capering fools,
Modern: Mixed his royal status with dancing clowns,

Original: Had his great name profaned with their scorns
Modern: Had his great reputation degraded by their mockery

Original: And gave his countenance, against his name,
Modern: And gave his approval, damaging his reputation,

Original: To laugh at gibing boys and stand the push
Modern: To laugh at insulting young men and endure the attacks

Original: Of every beardless vain comparative,
Modern: Of every young, arrogant critic,

Original: Grew a companion to the common streets,
Modern: Became a familiar sight on ordinary streets,

Original: Enfeoff’d himself to popularity;
Modern: Surrendered himself to being popular with common people;

Original: That, being daily swallow’d by men’s eyes,
Modern: So that, being seen by men’s eyes every day,

Original: They surfeited with honey and began
Modern: They became overfed with sweetness and began

Original: To loathe the taste of sweetness, whereof a little
Modern: To hate the taste of sweetness, when just a little

Original: More than a little is by much too much.
Modern: More than a little becomes way too much.

Original: So when he had occasion to be seen,
Modern: So when he had a reason to appear,

Original: He was but as the cuckoo is in June,
Modern: He was like the cuckoo bird in June,

Original: Heard, not regarded; seen, but with such eyes
Modern: Heard but ignored; seen, but with the kind of eyes

Original: As, sick and blunted with community,
Modern: That, tired and dulled by familiarity,

Original: Afford no extraordinary gaze,
Modern: Don’t give any special attention,

Original: Such as is bent on sun-like majesty
Modern: The kind of attention given to sun-like majesty

Original: When it shines seldom in admiring eyes;
Modern: When it rarely appears before admiring eyes;

Original: But rather drowzed and hung their eyelids down,
Modern: But instead people grew drowsy and lowered their eyelids,

Original: Slept in his face and render’d such aspect
Modern: Showed boredom in his presence and gave him such looks

Original: As cloudy men use to their adversaries,
Modern: As gloomy men give to their enemies,

Original: Being with his presence glutted, gorged and full.
Modern: Being stuffed, overfed, and satisfied with seeing him.

Original: And in that very line, Harry, standest thou;
Modern: And you’re following that same path, Harry;

Original: For thou has lost thy princely privilege
Modern: Because you’ve lost your princely special status

Original: With vile participation: not an eye
Modern: By associating with low company: there’s not an eye

Original: But is a-weary of thy common sight,
Modern: That isn’t tired of your constant presence,

Original: Save mine, which hath desired to see thee more;
Modern: Except mine, which has wanted to see you more;

Original: Which now doth that I would not have it do,
Modern: Which now does what I wish it wouldn’t do,

Original: Make blind itself with foolish tenderness.
Modern: Blinds itself with foolish tears of love.

Here is a two-paragraph summary of Act III, Scene ii of Henry IV, Part 1, beginning at line 31:

King Henry IV privately confronts his son, Prince Hal, expressing his deep disappointment and shame over Hal’s reckless behavior and disreputable associations. The King tells Hal that by spending so much time in low company and making himself so common and accessible to all people, he has squandered the respect and mystique that a future king must maintain. Henry compares Hal unfavorably to the young Henry Percy, known as Hotspur, praising Percy’s military achievements and warrior reputation, and suggesting that Hotspur appears more worthy of the crown than his own son. The King laments that Hal has lost the admiration of the court and the common people alike, and fears that when the time comes, Hal will be unable to command the loyalty and respect necessary to rule.

Prince Hal responds to his father’s rebuke by sincerely apologizing and pledging to redeem himself in his father’s eyes. He promises to prove his worth on the battlefield by confronting Hotspur directly, vowing to defeat him and reclaim the honors that Hotspur has accumulated. Hal swears that he will take from Hotspur all of his glory and restore his own reputation as a worthy prince and future king. King Henry, moved by his son’s promises, responds with renewed hope and begins to outline his military plans against the rebel forces. He assigns Hal a command in the upcoming campaign, and the scene closes with father and son reconciled and united in purpose against the rebellion.

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.