Original: You are right, Justice, and you weigh this well;
Modern: You are correct, Chief Justice, and you have judged this situation wisely;

Original: Therefore still bear the balance and the sword;
Modern: Therefore, continue to carry the scales of justice and the sword of law;

Original: And I do wish your honours may increase
Modern: And I hope your reputation and position continue to grow

Original: Till you do live to see a son of mine
Modern: Until you live long enough to see one of my sons

Original: Offend you, and obey you, as I did.
Modern: Break the law and then submit to your justice, just as I did.

Original: So shall I live to speak my father’s words:
Modern: Then I will be able to repeat what my father said:

Original: ‘Happy am I that have a man so bold
Modern: ‘I am fortunate to have a man brave enough

Original: That dares do justice on my proper son;
Modern: Who dares to enforce the law against my own son;

Original: And not less happy, having such a son
Modern: And I’m equally fortunate to have a son

Original: That would deliver up his greatness so
Modern: Who would surrender his royal status

Original: Into the hands of justice.’ You did commit me;
Modern: To the hands of the law.’ You sent me to prison;

Original: For which I do commit into your hand
Modern: Therefore, I now place into your hand

Original: Th’ unstained sword that you have us’d to bear;
Modern: The unblemished sword of justice that you have carried;

Original: With this remembrance—that you use the same
Modern: With this reminder—that you use it

Original: With the like bold, just, and impartial spirit
Modern: With the same brave, fair, and unbiased spirit

Original: As you have done ‘gainst me. There is my hand.
Modern: As you used against me. Here, I offer my hand in friendship.

Original: You shall be as a father to my youth;
Modern: You will be like a father figure during my young kingship;

Original: My voice shall sound as you do prompt mine ear;
Modern: I will speak the words you advise me to say;

Original: And I will stoop and humble my intents
Modern: And I will lower myself and make my plans humble

Original: To your well-practis’d wise directions.
Modern: To follow your experienced and wise guidance.

Original: And, Princes all, believe me, I beseech you,
Modern: And, all you nobles, please believe me, I beg you,

Original: My father is gone wild into his grave,
Modern: My father’s wildness has been buried with him in his grave,

Original: For in his tomb lie my affections;
Modern: Because my wild desires are also buried in his tomb;

Original: And with his spirits sadly I survive,
Modern: And I live on sadly with his noble spirit,

Original: To mock the expectation of the world,
Modern: To prove wrong what everyone expected of me,

Original: To frustrate prophecies, and to raze out
Modern: To disprove the predictions, and to erase

Original: Rotten opinion, who hath writ me down
Modern: The corrupt reputation that has labeled me

Original: After my seeming. The tide of blood in me
Modern: Based on my outward behavior. The passion flowing through me

Original: Hath proudly flow’d in vanity till now.
Modern: Has arrogantly flowed in selfish pleasure until now.

Original: Now doth it turn and ebb back to the sea,
Modern: Now it turns around and flows back to the ocean,

Original: Where it shall mingle with the state of floods,
Modern: Where it will blend with the powerful tides,

Original: And flow henceforth in formal majesty.
Modern: And from now on will flow with royal dignity.

Original: Now call we our high court of parliament;
Modern: Now I call together our parliament;

Original: And let us choose such limbs of noble counsel,
Modern: And let us select such members of noble advisors,

Original: That the great body of our state may go
Modern: So that our entire nation may move forward

Original: In equal rank with the best govern’d nation;
Modern: As an equal to the best-governed countries;

Original: That war, or peace, or both at once, may be
Modern: So that war, or peace, or even both together, will be

Original: As things acquainted and familiar to us;
Modern: Things we know well and can handle skillfully;

Original: In which you, father, shall have foremost hand.
Modern: In all of this, you, father figure, will have the leading role.

Original: Our coronation done, we will accite,
Modern: After my coronation is finished, we will summon,

Original: As I before rememb’red, all our state;
Modern: As I mentioned earlier, all our government officials;

Original: And—God consigning to my good intents-
Modern: And—with God’s approval of my good intentions—

Original: No prince nor peer shall have just cause to say,
Modern: No royal or nobleman will have any good reason to say,

Original: God shorten Harry’s happy life one day.
Modern: May God cut short Harry’s joyful life by even one day.

In Act V, Scene ii of “Henry IV, Part 2,” the newly crowned King Henry V meets with his brothers and the Lord Chief Justice in a formal audience. The young king addresses the Lord Chief Justice, who had once imprisoned Prince Hal for striking him in defense of Falstaff. The Lord Chief Justice defends his actions, explaining that he was upholding the king’s law and maintaining justice even when it meant correcting the heir to the throne. He asks the new king to imagine if someone were to strike the Lord Chief Justice now, in Henry V’s own reign, and whether such an offense should go unpunished. The Chief Justice essentially argues that he was protecting the dignity of Henry IV’s throne by not showing favoritism to the prince.

King Henry V responds by not only pardoning the Lord Chief Justice but also confirming him in his office and asking him to serve as a father figure and moral guide. Henry declares that he now sees the wisdom in the Chief Justice’s past actions and recognizes that such firm adherence to law and order is exactly what he needs in his council. He tells his brothers that they should respect the Chief Justice as a father, and he formally tasks the Chief Justice with helping him govern justly. The scene marks Henry V’s clear transformation from the wild Prince Hal into a responsible monarch who values law, order, and wise counsel over his former companions and reckless behavior.

Henry IV, Part Two - Summary of Events

The play opens with Rumour spreading false news that Hotspur has defeated King Henry IV at Shrewsbury. Northumberland soon learns the truth: his son Hotspur is dead, and the rebellion has failed. Despite his grief and calls from his allies to continue the fight, Northumberland eventually flees to Scotland. Meanwhile, the rebel leaders—the Archbishop of York, Lord Mowbray, and Lord Hastings—gather forces for a new uprising against the King.

Prince Hal continues his time in the taverns of Eastcheap with Falstaff, Mistress Quickly, Doll Tearsheet, and his companions. Falstaff, deep in debt and pursued by the Hostess for unpaid bills, manipulates his way out of trouble and is eventually called to join the King’s forces. The King himself is gravely ill and troubled by insomnia, burdened by guilt over how he obtained the crown. He laments that Hal remains irresponsible and fears for England’s future under his son’s rule.

In Gaultree Forest, Prince John of Lancaster meets with the rebels under a flag of truce. He promises to address their grievances, and the rebel leaders dismiss their armies. Once the rebel forces disperse, Prince John arrests the leaders for treason and orders their execution. When the dying King Henry hears of this victory and later finds Hal with the crown at his bedside (believing him dead, Hal had taken it), father and son reconcile. Henry dies, and Hal becomes King Henry V.

As the new king, Henry V publicly rejects Falstaff, who arrives expecting rewards and favor. The King banishes his former companion from his presence, promises him support at a distance, but makes clear their relationship is over. The Lord Chief Justice is retained in his position, and the new king prepares to rule England. The epilogue promises that the story will continue with Henry V’s wars in France and hints that Falstaff will appear again.