Here is the line-by-line modern paraphrase of the monologue:

Original: Hear him but reason in divinity,
Modern: Just listen to him discuss religion and theology,

Original: And all-admiring with an inward wish
Modern: And you’ll find yourself so impressed that deep down you’ll wish

Original: You would desire the king were made a prelate:
Modern: That the king could become a church leader instead.

Original: Hear him debate of commonwealth affairs,
Modern: Listen to him talk about matters of government and public life,

Original: You would say it hath been all in all his study:
Modern: And you’d swear it was the only thing he ever studied.

Original: List his discourse of war, and you shall hear
Modern: Pay attention when he speaks about warfare, and you’ll hear

Original: A fearful battle render’d you in music:
Modern: A terrifying battle described so beautifully it sounds like music.

Original: Turn him to any cause of policy,
Modern: Put any complicated political problem in front of him,

Original: The Gordian knot of it he will unloose,
Modern: And he’ll untangle even the most impossibly complex issue,

Original: Familiar as his garter: that, when he speaks,
Modern: As easily as if he were adjusting his own clothing. And when he speaks,

Original: The air, a charter’d libertine, is still,
Modern: Even the air itself, which moves freely wherever it wants, goes quiet,

Original: And the mute wonder lurketh in men’s ears,
Modern: And a speechless sense of amazement settles into the ears of every listener,

Original: To steal his sweet and honey’d sentences;
Modern: Hungering to catch every sweet and beautifully crafted word he says.

Original: So that the art and practic part of life
Modern: It’s as if all real-world experience and practical knowledge

Original: Must be the mistress to this theoric:
Modern: Exists only to serve his brilliant theoretical understanding.

Original: Which is a wonder how his grace should glean it,
Modern: What’s truly astonishing is how he ever learned any of this,

Original: Since his addiction was to courses vain,
Modern: Since he used to spend all his time on worthless and foolish pursuits,

Original: His companies unletter’d, rude and shallow,
Modern: Surrounding himself with uneducated, rough, and superficial companions,

Original: His hours fill’d up with riots, banquets, sports,
Modern: Filling his days with wild behavior, lavish parties, and games,

Original: And never noted in him any study,
Modern: And no one ever once noticed him applying himself to serious study,

Original: Any retirement, any sequestration
Modern: Or ever withdrawing from the crowd, or separating himself

Original: From open haunts and popularity.
Modern: From loud public places and the company of rowdy crowds.

Act I, Scene i of Henry V takes place in an antechamber of the King’s palace, where two senior clergymen, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely, meet to discuss a bill that has been introduced in Parliament. This bill, which had previously been proposed during the reign of Henry IV but never passed, would strip the Church of a significant portion of its wealth and land holdings, transferring that property to the Crown. The Archbishop of Canterbury explains to the Bishop of Ely that the bill poses a serious threat to the Church, as it would deprive the clergy of a substantial amount of their temporal possessions and revenues.

The conversation then shifts to King Henry V himself, with the Archbishop speaking admiringly of the king’s remarkable transformation and his surprising depth of knowledge and wisdom. Canterbury marvels at how Henry, who in his youth was known for his wild and dissolute behavior, has grown into a learned, eloquent, and pious ruler. The Archbishop then reveals that he has offered the King a very large sum of money from the Church in support of Henry’s potential military campaign to claim the French throne, partly as a means of diverting the King’s attention away from the threatening legislation. The scene closes with the two clergymen preparing to attend upon the King, who is about to receive ambassadors from France.

Henry V follows the young English king as he transforms from the wayward Prince Hal into a decisive military leader. The play opens with Henry’s court debating his claim to the French throne through his great-great-grandmother’s lineage. When the French Dauphin mockingly sends Henry tennis balls as a gift, suggesting he should stick to games rather than warfare, Henry uses this insult as justification to invade France. He sentences three conspirators - Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey - to death for plotting against his life, then sets sail for France with his army.

The English forces land in France and lay siege to Harfleur, which Henry captures after his famous “Once more unto the breach” speech. However, his army is weakened by disease and casualties. Meanwhile, we follow the tavern companions from Henry’s youth - Pistol, Nym, Bardolph, and Hostess Quickly, who reports the death of Falstaff. The English army, vastly outnumbered, faces the French at Agincourt. On the eve of battle, Henry disguises himself and walks among his soldiers to gauge their morale, engaging in philosophical discussions about kingship and responsibility.

The Battle of Agincourt proves to be a decisive English victory despite overwhelming French numerical superiority. Henry orders the killing of French prisoners when he believes the French are regrouping, and becomes enraged when he discovers French forces have killed the English boys guarding the baggage train. The English suffer minimal casualties while French losses are enormous. The play concludes with Henry’s courtship of Princess Katherine of France, conducted partly in broken French and English. Their marriage seals the Treaty of Troyes, which names Henry as heir to the French throne, though the Chorus epilogue reminds the audience that Henry’s son would later lose these French territories.