Original: What chance is this that suddenly hath cross’d us?
Modern: What terrible luck is this that has suddenly struck us down?

Original: Speak, Salisbury; at least, if thou canst speak:
Modern: Say something, Salisbury—at least try, if you’re able to speak:

Original: How farest thou, mirror of all martial men?
Modern: How are you doing, you who were the perfect example of all warriors?

Original: One of thy eyes and thy cheek’s side struck off!
Modern: One of your eyes and the side of your face have been blown off!

Original: Accursed tower! accursed fatal hand
Modern: Damn that tower! Damn the deadly hand

Original: That hath contrived this woful tragedy!
Modern: That has caused this terrible tragedy!

Original: In thirteen battles Salisbury o’ercame;
Modern: Salisbury was victorious in thirteen battles;

Original: Henry the Fifth he first train’d to the wars;
Modern: He was the one who first trained Henry the Fifth for war;

Original: Whilst any trump did sound, or drum struck up,
Modern: Whenever any trumpet sounded or drum was beaten,

Original: His sword did ne’er leave striking in the field.
Modern: His sword never stopped striking enemies on the battlefield.

Original: Yet livest thou, Salisbury? though thy speech doth fail,
Modern: Are you still alive, Salisbury? Even though you cannot speak,

Original: One eye thou hast, to look to heaven for grace:
Modern: You have one eye left to look up to heaven for mercy:

Original: The sun with one eye vieweth all the world.
Modern: The sun sees the whole world with just one eye.

Original: Heaven, be thou gracious to none alive,
Modern: Heaven, don’t show mercy to anyone living,

Original: If Salisbury wants mercy at thy hands!
Modern: If you don’t show mercy to Salisbury!

Original: Bear hence his body; I will help to bury it.
Modern: Carry his body away from here; I will help bury it.

Original: Sir Thomas Gargrave, hast thou any life?
Modern: Sir Thomas Gargrave, are you still alive?

Original: Speak unto Talbot; nay, look up to him.
Modern: Speak to Talbot—no, just look up at him.

Original: Salisbury, cheer thy spirit with this comfort;
Modern: Salisbury, lift your spirits with this reassurance;

Original: Thou shalt not die whiles—
Modern: You will not die while—

Original: He beckons with his hand and smiles on me.
Modern: He’s gesturing to me with his hand and smiling at me.

Original: As who should say ‘When I am dead and gone,
Modern: As if to say, “When I am dead and gone,

Original: Remember to avenge me on the French.’
Modern: Remember to take revenge on the French for me.”

Original: Plantagenet, I will; and like thee, Nero,
Modern: Plantagenet, I will; and like the emperor Nero,

Original: Play on the lute, beholding the towns burn:
Modern: I’ll play music while watching the towns burn:

Original: Wretched shall France be only in my name.
Modern: France will be made miserable by my name alone.

In Act I, Scene iv of Henry VI, Part 1, the action takes place at the walls of Orléans, where the Master Gunner of the city instructs his Boy to keep watch over a particular opening in the walls, through which the English lords have been observed spying on the French positions. The Master Gunner has set a piece of ordnance aimed at this spot, and he instructs his son to fire upon anyone who appears there, before departing to attend to other duties. Shortly after, the English lords — including the Earl of Salisbury and Sir Thomas Gargrave — arrive at the tower and look out through the very opening the Master Gunner had identified. They survey the French positions and discuss the state of the siege, observing the layout of Orléans and debating the best strategy for taking the city.

The Boy, having spotted the English lords at the opening, fires the cannon as his father instructed. The shot strikes both Salisbury and Gargrave, mortally wounding them. Gargrave dies almost immediately, while Salisbury lingers, his face grotesquely disfigured by the blast. Lord Talbot, who is present, is stricken with grief at the sight of his fallen comrade Salisbury, lamenting the loss of a great English warrior and vowing revenge upon the French. A messenger then arrives bearing news that the French forces, led by a holy maid — a reference to Joan la Pucelle — are advancing with renewed strength toward Orléans, setting the stage for the confrontations to come.

Henry VI, Part 1 opens with the funeral of King Henry V, England’s great warrior king. The English nobles mourn his death while news arrives of military disasters in France, where English territories are being lost to French forces led by the Dauphin Charles. The Duke of Gloucester and the Bishop of Winchester engage in a bitter power struggle over control of the young King Henry VI, creating division within the English court.

In France, Joan of Pucelle (Joan of Arc) arrives at the French court, claiming divine guidance to drive the English from French soil. She demonstrates her supernatural powers and convinces the Dauphin of her mission. Joan leads the French forces to several victories, including the recapture of Orléans from the English. Meanwhile, the English hero Lord Talbot fights valiantly but faces increasingly difficult circumstances as French resistance grows stronger under Joan’s leadership.

The English nobles’ internal conflicts intensify when Richard Plantagenet (later Duke of York) and Edmund Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, quarrel in the Temple Garden. Their dispute leads to the symbolic plucking of white and red roses, representing the future Wars of the Roses. Plantagenet seeks to restore his family’s honor after his father’s execution for treason, while Somerset defends the Lancastrian cause.

The play concludes with the capture and execution of Joan of Pucelle by the English, though not before she attempts various defenses including claims of pregnancy. Despite her death, the French continue their resistance. Lord Talbot dies heroically in battle alongside his son John at Bordeaux, abandoned by the feuding English nobles who fail to send reinforcements. The Earl of Suffolk captures Margaret of Anjou and arranges her marriage to King Henry VI, setting the stage for future conflicts. The play ends with the English position in France severely weakened and internal divisions threatening the stability of the English crown.