Original: We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us;
Modern: I’m glad the French Prince thinks he’s being so amusing with me;

Original: His present and your pains we thank you for:
Modern: I thank you for delivering his gift and for your trouble:

Original: When we have march’d our rackets to these balls,
Modern: When I’ve matched my tennis rackets to these tennis balls he sent,

Original: We will, in France, by God’s grace, play a set
Modern: I will, in France, with God’s help, play a game

Original: Shall strike his father’s crown into the hazard.
Modern: That will knock his father’s crown into the winning hole.

Original: Tell him he hath made a match with such a wrangler
Modern: Tell him he’s picked a fight with such a fierce opponent

Original: That all the courts of France will be disturb’d
Modern: That all the courts of France will be thrown into chaos

Original: With chaces. And we understand him well,
Modern: With hard-fought volleys. And I understand him perfectly,

Original: How he comes o’er us with our wilder days,
Modern: How he’s mocking me about my wild youth,

Original: Not measuring what use we made of them.
Modern: Not realizing what I learned from those experiences.

Original: We never valued this poor seat of England;
Modern: I never appreciated this humble throne of England;

Original: And therefore, living hence, did give ourself
Modern: And therefore, living away from here, I gave myself over

Original: To barbarous licence; as ‘tis ever common
Modern: To wild and reckless behavior; as it’s always true

Original: That men are merriest when they are from home.
Modern: That men are most carefree when they’re away from home.

Original: But tell the Dauphin I will keep my state,
Modern: But tell the French Prince I will maintain my royal dignity,

Original: Be like a king and show my sail of greatness
Modern: Act like a true king and display my full power

Original: When I do rouse me in my throne of France:
Modern: When I rise up to claim my throne in France:

Original: For that I have laid by my majesty
Modern: Because even though I’ve set aside my royal bearing

Original: And plodded like a man for working-days,
Modern: And lived like an ordinary man going about everyday business,

Original: But I will rise there with so full a glory
Modern: I will rise up there with such complete glory

Original: That I will dazzle all the eyes of France,
Modern: That I will blind all who look upon me in France,

Original: Yea, strike the Dauphin blind to look on us.
Modern: Yes, the Prince will be blinded just looking at me.

Original: And tell the pleasant prince this mock of his
Modern: And tell that joking prince this insult of his

Original: Hath turn’d his balls to gun-stones; and his soul
Modern: Has turned his tennis balls into cannonballs; and his soul

Original: Shall stand sore charged for the wasteful vengeance
Modern: Will be held gravely accountable for the destructive revenge

Original: That shall fly with them: for many a thousand widows
Modern: That will fly with them: because many thousands of widows

Original: Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands;
Modern: Will his joke mock by killing their beloved husbands;

Original: Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down;
Modern: Mock mothers by killing their sons, mock by tearing down castles;

Original: And some are yet ungotten and unborn
Modern: And some people are not yet conceived and unborn

Original: That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin’s scorn.
Modern: Who will have reason to curse the Prince’s contempt.

Original: But this lies all within the will of God,
Modern: But all of this rests in God’s will,

Original: To whom I do appeal; and in whose name
Modern: To whom I make my appeal; and in whose name

Original: Tell you the Dauphin I am coming on,
Modern: Tell the French Prince I am coming for him,

Original: To venge me as I may and to put forth
Modern: To take my revenge as best I can and to use

Original: My rightful hand in a well-hallow’d cause.
Modern: My rightful power in a holy and blessed cause.

Original: So get you hence in peace; and tell the Dauphin
Modern: So leave here peacefully; and tell the French Prince

Original: His jest will savour but of shallow wit,
Modern: His joke will only seem like stupid humor,

Original: When thousands weep more than did laugh at it.
Modern: When thousands cry more than those who laughed at it.

Original: Convey them with safe conduct. Fare you well.
Modern: Escort them safely out. Goodbye.

In Act I, Scene 2 of Henry V, King Henry meets with his nobles and the Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss his claim to the French throne. The Archbishop delivers a lengthy exposition explaining the Salic Law, which the French use to deny inheritance through the female line, and demonstrates how this law should not apply to Henry’s claim to France through his great-great-grandmother Isabella. The Archbishop and the Bishop of Ely both encourage Henry to pursue his rightful claim, assuring him that his cause is just and that the Church will support him financially in the endeavor.

The French Dauphin’s ambassadors then arrive bearing a mocking gift of tennis balls, suggesting that Henry should occupy himself with games rather than matters of war and statecraft. Henry responds with controlled anger, promising that the Dauphin’s jest will be repaid with cannon balls and that many will die for this insult. The King formally declares his intention to invade France, ordering his nobles to prepare for war while he makes final arrangements for governing England in his absence. The scene concludes with Henry’s determination to claim his inheritance in France, regardless of the cost in blood and treasure.

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.