Original: Proteus, I thank thee for thine honest care;
Modern: Proteus, I thank you for your sincere concern;

Original: Which to requite, command me while I live.
Modern: To repay you for this, ask anything of me for as long as I live.

Original: This love of theirs myself have often seen,
Modern: I myself have often noticed this romance between them,

Original: Haply when they have judged me fast asleep,
Modern: Perhaps when they thought I was sound asleep,

Original: And oftentimes have purposed to forbid
Modern: And many times I’ve intended to forbid

Original: Sir Valentine her company and my court:
Modern: Sir Valentine from seeing her and from being at my court:

Original: But fearing lest my jealous aim might err
Modern: But I was afraid that my suspicious guess might be wrong

Original: And so unworthily disgrace the man,
Modern: And I would unfairly dishonor the man,

Original: A rashness that I ever yet have shunn’d,
Modern: A rash action that I’ve always avoided,

Original: I gave him gentle looks, thereby to find
Modern: So I treated him kindly, hoping to discover

Original: That which thyself hast now disclosed to me.
Modern: What you have now revealed to me.

Original: And, that thou mayst perceive my fear of this,
Modern: And, so you can understand how concerned I was about this,

Original: Knowing that tender youth is soon suggested,
Modern: Knowing that young people are easily tempted,

Original: I nightly lodge her in an upper tower,
Modern: Every night I keep her locked in an upstairs tower,

Original: The key whereof myself have ever kept;
Modern: The key to which I have always kept myself;

Original: And thence she cannot be convey’d away.
Modern: And from there she cannot be taken away.

In Act III, Scene i of “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” the Duke of Milan encounters Valentine and seeks his counsel regarding matters of love. The Duke explains that he wishes to court a lady but faces the challenge that she is confined in a high tower, making access to her difficult. He asks Valentine for advice on how a lover might reach such an inaccessible lady. Valentine, unknowing that the Duke speaks of his own beloved Silvia, suggests using a rope ladder that could be thrown up to the lady’s window, allowing the suitor to climb up and speak with her privately.

The Duke appears pleased with this advice and asks Valentine where such a rope ladder might be obtained. Valentine offers to provide one, and the Duke requests that Valentine bring it to him that evening. However, the Duke’s questions grow more specific and suspicious, ultimately leading to Valentine’s realization that he has been trapped. When the Duke demands to search Valentine, he discovers the rope ladder and a letter intended for Silvia hidden in Valentine’s cloak. Exposed in his plan to elope with the Duke’s daughter, Valentine faces the Duke’s wrath and is immediately banished from Milan under pain of death, forced to leave behind both Silvia and his friend Proteus.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona follows the friendship and romantic entanglements of Valentine and Proteus, two young gentlemen from Verona. The play opens with Valentine departing for Milan to experience court life, leaving behind his friend Proteus, who is deeply in love with Julia. Soon after, Proteus is also sent to Milan by his father, forcing him to leave Julia, though they secretly exchange rings as tokens of their love. Meanwhile, Julia decides to disguise herself as a young man named Sebastian and follow Proteus to Milan.

In Milan, Valentine has fallen in love with Silvia, the Duke’s daughter, and she returns his affection. However, when Proteus arrives and meets Silvia, he immediately forgets his love for Julia and becomes infatuated with his friend’s beloved. In an act of betrayal, Proteus reveals Valentine’s secret plan to elope with Silvia to her father, the Duke. As punishment, Valentine is banished from Milan and becomes the leader of a group of outlaws in the forest.

The climax unfolds in the forest where all the characters converge. Proteus pursues the disguised Julia (still dressed as Sebastian, who has become his page) and attempts to force his attentions on Silvia, who has fled to find Valentine. Valentine arrives just in time to stop the assault, and when Proteus expresses remorse, Valentine magnanimously offers to give up Silvia to restore their friendship. At this moment, Julia faints and reveals her true identity. The play concludes with the Duke’s arrival, his pardon of Valentine and the outlaws, and the restoration of proper romantic pairings: Valentine with Silvia and Proteus reunited with the forgiving Julia.