Original: My thoughts are whirled like a potter’s wheel;
Modern: My mind is spinning around and around uncontrollably;

Original: I know not where I am, nor what I do;
Modern: I don’t know where I am or what I’m doing;

Original: A witch, by fear, not force, like Hannibal,
Modern: A witch, using fear instead of physical strength, just like the ancient general Hannibal,

Original: Drives back our troops and conquers as she lists:
Modern: Pushes our soldiers back and defeats us whenever she wants:

Original: So bees with smoke and doves with noisome stench
Modern: Just as bees are driven away by smoke and doves by terrible smells

Original: Are from their hives and houses driven away.
Modern: Are forced to flee from their homes.

Original: They call’d us for our fierceness English dogs;
Modern: Our enemies used to call us fierce English attack dogs;

Original: Now, like to whelps, we crying run away.
Modern: Now, like helpless puppies, we’re running away whimpering.

Original: Hark, countrymen! either renew the fight,
Modern: Listen, fellow soldiers! Either get back in the fight,

Original: Or tear the lions out of England’s coat;
Modern: Or rip the lions off England’s royal banner;

Original: Renounce your soil, give sheep in lions’ stead:
Modern: Reject your homeland and replace those lions with sheep instead:

Original: Sheep run not half so treacherous from the wolf,
Modern: Sheep don’t run as cowardly from wolves,

Original: Or horse or oxen from the leopard,
Modern: And horses and cattle don’t flee from leopards

Original: As you fly from your oft-subdued slaves.
Modern: As shamefully as you’re running from enemies you’ve beaten many times before.

Original: It will not be: retire into your trenches:
Modern: It’s no use: fall back to your defensive positions:

Original: You all consented unto Salisbury’s death,
Modern: You all agreed to let Salisbury die,

Original: For none would strike a stroke in his revenge.
Modern: Because not one of you would fight to avenge him.

Original: Pucelle is enter’d into Orleans,
Modern: Joan of Arc has entered the city of Orleans,

Original: In spite of us or aught that we could do.
Modern: Despite our presence and everything we tried to do to stop her.

Original: O, would I were to die with Salisbury!
Modern: Oh, I wish I had died alongside Salisbury!

Original: The shame hereof will make me hide my head.
Modern: The disgrace of this defeat will make me too ashamed to show my face.

Henry VI, Part 1 — Act I, Scene iv

In this scene, the action takes place at the Tower of London, where the Master Gunner of Orleans instructs his Boy regarding a strategic post that overlooks a location where English lords have been observed watching and surveying the French town. The Master Gunner explains that he has aimed his cannon at this position and instructs the Boy to keep watch, firing the cannon should any of the English appear there again. The Master Gunner then exits, leaving the Boy on guard.

Shortly after, the English Lord Talbot arrives at the post along with the Duke of Bedford, the Duke of Gloucester, and others, where they begin to observe the French positions below. As they look out, the Boy spots them and ignites the cannon. The shot kills the Earl of Salisbury and Sir Thomas Gargrave, who are struck by the blast. Salisbury is gravely wounded in the face and Gargrave is killed outright. Talbot is devastated by the loss of Salisbury, whom he regards as a great and invaluable military leader, and he laments bitterly over him. A messenger then arrives to announce that the French, led by Charles the Dauphin, are advancing with a large force toward the English position, pressing the scene toward the imminent confrontation that follows.

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.