HOTSPUR (HENRY PERCY) - Line-by-line Paraphrase

Original: The king is kind; and well we know the king
Modern: The king acts generous, but we know very well that the king

Original: Knows at what time to promise, when to pay.
Modern: Knows exactly when to make promises and when to actually keep them.

Original: My father and my uncle and myself
Modern: My father, my uncle, and I

Original: Did give him that same royalty he wears;
Modern: Are the ones who gave him the crown he now wears;

Original: And when he was not six and twenty strong,
Modern: And when he had fewer than twenty-six followers,

Original: Sick in the world’s regard, wretched and low,
Modern: Despised by everyone, miserable and insignificant,

Original: A poor unminded outlaw sneaking home,
Modern: A poor forgotten outlaw sneaking back to England,

Original: My father gave him welcome to the shore;
Modern: My father welcomed him when he landed;

Original: And when he heard him swear and vow to God
Modern: And when he heard him swear and promise to God

Original: He came but to be Duke of Lancaster,
Modern: That he came only to reclaim his title as Duke of Lancaster,

Original: To sue his livery and beg his peace,
Modern: To claim his inheritance and ask for pardon,

Original: With tears of innocency and terms of zeal,
Modern: With innocent tears and passionate words,

Original: My father, in kind heart and pity moved,
Modern: My father, moved by kindness and sympathy,

Original: Swore him assistance and perform’d it too.
Modern: Promised to help him and actually did it too.

Original: Now when the lords and barons of the realm
Modern: Then when the lords and nobles of the kingdom

Original: Perceived Northumberland did lean to him,
Modern: Saw that Northumberland was supporting him,

Original: The more and less came in with cap and knee;
Modern: Everyone, high and low, came bowing respectfully;

Original: Met him in boroughs, cities, villages,
Modern: They met him in towns, cities, and villages,

Original: Attended him on bridges, stood in lanes,
Modern: They gathered on bridges and stood in the streets,

Original: Laid gifts before him, proffer’d him their oaths,
Modern: Placed gifts before him, offered him their pledges of loyalty,

Original: Gave him their heirs, as pages follow’d him
Modern: Gave him their sons as servants who followed him

Original: Even at the heels in golden multitudes.
Modern: Right at his heels in huge, glorious crowds.

Original: He presently, as greatness knows itself,
Modern: He immediately, once he realized his own power,

Original: Steps me a little higher than his vow
Modern: Went a little further than the promise

Original: Made to my father, while his blood was poor,
Modern: He made to my father when his status was low,

Original: Upon the naked shore at Ravenspurgh;
Modern: On that bare beach at Ravenspurgh;

Original: And now, forsooth, takes on him to reform
Modern: And now, indeed, he takes it upon himself to reform

Original: Some certain edicts and some strait decrees
Modern: Certain laws and some strict rules

Original: That lie too heavy on the commonwealth,
Modern: That weigh too heavily on the nation,

Original: Cries out upon abuses, seems to weep
Modern: Complains about injustices, appears to cry

Original: Over his country’s wrongs; and by this face,
Modern: Over his country’s suffering; and with this act,

Original: This seeming brow of justice, did he win
Modern: This false appearance of fairness, he won

Original: The hearts of all that he did angle for;
Modern: The hearts of everyone he was fishing for;

Original: Proceeded further; cut me off the heads
Modern: Went even further; he cut off the heads

Original: Of all the favourites that the absent king
Modern: Of all the favorites that the former king

Original: In deputation left behind him here,
Modern: Had left in charge here as his deputies,

Original: When he was personal in the Irish war.
Modern: When he went personally to fight in the Irish war.

Original: Then to the point.
Modern: Then let me get to the point.

Original: In short time after, he deposed the king;
Modern: Shortly after that, he overthrew the king;

Original: Soon after that, deprived him of his life;
Modern: Soon after that, he had him killed;

Original: And in the neck of that, task’d the whole state:
Modern: And immediately after that, he taxed the entire country:

Original: To make that worse, suffer’d his kinsman March,
Modern: To make matters worse, he allowed his relative March,

Original: Who is, if every owner were well placed,
Modern: Who is, if everyone had their rightful position,

Original: Indeed his king, to be engaged in Wales,
Modern: Actually the true king, to be held captive in Wales,

Original: There without ransom to lie forfeited;
Modern: To remain there as a prisoner without any ransom being paid;

Original: Disgraced me in my happy victories,
Modern: He dishonored me after my great victories,

Original: Sought to entrap me by intelligence;
Modern: Tried to trap me using spies;

Original: Rated mine uncle from the council-board;
Modern: Angrily expelled my uncle from the council;

Original: In rage dismiss’d my father from the court;
Modern: In a fury, banished my father from the court;

Original: Broke oath on oath, committed wrong on wrong,
Modern: Broke promise after promise, committed injustice after injustice,

Original: And in conclusion drove us to seek out
Modern: And finally forced us to organize

Original: This head of safety; and withal to pry
Modern: This armed rebellion for our protection; and also to investigate

Original: Into his title, the which we find
Modern: His claim to the throne, which we find

Original: Too indirect for long continuance.
Modern: Too questionable to last much longer.

Original: Not so, Sir Walter: we’ll withdraw awhile.
Modern: Not yet, Sir Walter: we need to discuss this privately first.

Original: Go to the king; and let there be impawn’d
Modern: Go to the king; and let there be guaranteed

Original: Some surety for a safe return again,
Modern: Some pledge that guarantees safe passage back,

Original: And in the morning early shall my uncle
Modern: And early in the morning my uncle will

Original: Bring him our purposes: and so farewell.
Modern: Deliver our decision to him: and so goodbye.

In Act IV, Scene 3 of Henry IV Part 1, the rebel forces led by Hotspur gather at Shrewsbury to prepare for battle against King Henry’s army. Hotspur receives disappointing news: his father, the Earl of Northumberland, has fallen ill and cannot bring his forces to join the rebellion. Additionally, Glendower’s Welsh troops will not arrive for another fourteen days. Despite these setbacks reducing their numbers significantly, Hotspur remains eager for battle, arguing that their smaller force will bring them greater honor in victory and that they cannot safely retreat now that they have come so far.

Sir Walter Blunt arrives as a messenger from King Henry, offering the rebels a chance to air their grievances peacefully and negotiate terms before battle begins. Hotspur responds with a lengthy recitation of the Percy family’s complaints against the King, detailing how they helped Henry Bolingbroke overthrow Richard II and claim the throne, only to be repaid with ingratitude, demands for ransom prisoners, and the dismissal of Hotspur’s uncle Worcester from the royal council. After cataloging these grievances, Hotspur tells Blunt that his uncle Worcester will deliver their formal answer to the King’s offer in the morning, and Blunt departs. The scene ends with the rebel leaders retiring for the night before the impending battle.

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.