Original: Anjou and Maine are given to the French;
Modern: The territories of Anjou and Maine have been handed over to the French;

Original: Paris is lost; the state of Normandy
Modern: Paris is lost; the region of Normandy

Original: Stands on a tickle point, now they are gone:
Modern: Is in a dangerous, unstable position, now that those territories are gone:

Original: Suffolk concluded on the articles,
Modern: Suffolk negotiated and finalized the treaty terms,

Original: The peers agreed, and Henry was well pleased
Modern: The nobles agreed to it, and King Henry was happy

Original: To change two dukedoms for a duke’s fair daughter.
Modern: To trade away two dukedoms just to marry a duke’s beautiful daughter.

Original: I cannot blame them all: what is’t to them?
Modern: I can’t blame all of them: what does it matter to them?

Original: ‘Tis thine they give away, and not their own.
Modern: It’s your land they’re giving away, not their own.

Original: Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their pillage
Modern: Pirates can sell off their stolen goods for whatever they can get

Original: And purchase friends and give to courtezans,
Modern: And buy friends and give gifts to prostitutes,

Original: Still revelling like lords till all be gone;
Modern: Partying like noblemen until everything is gone;

Original: While as the silly owner of the goods
Modern: While the helpless actual owner of the goods

Original: Weeps over them and wrings his hapless hands
Modern: Cries over them and wrings his unfortunate hands

Original: And shakes his head and trembling stands aloof,
Modern: And shakes his head and stands aside trembling,

Original: While all is shared and all is borne away,
Modern: While everything is divided up and carried away,

Original: Ready to starve and dare not touch his own:
Modern: About to starve but not daring to touch his own property:

Original: So York must sit and fret and bite his tongue,
Modern: That’s how York must sit and worry and keep silent,

Original: While his own lands are bargain’d for and sold.
Modern: While his own lands are negotiated away and sold off.

Original: Methinks the realms of England, France and Ireland
Modern: I think the kingdoms of England, France and Ireland

Original: Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood
Modern: Have the same relationship to my body and blood

Original: As did the fatal brand Althaea burn’d
Modern: As the deadly log that Althaea burned

Original: Unto the prince’s heart of Calydon.
Modern: Had to the prince of Calydon’s heart.

Original: Anjou and Maine both given unto the French!
Modern: Anjou and Maine both handed over to the French!

Original: Cold news for me, for I had hope of France,
Modern: Terrible news for me, because I had hopes of claiming France,

Original: Even as I have of fertile England’s soil.
Modern: Just as I have hopes of claiming England’s rich land.

Original: A day will come when York shall claim his own;
Modern: A day will come when York will claim what’s rightfully his;

Original: And therefore I will take the Nevils’ parts
Modern: And so I will ally myself with the Neville family

Original: And make a show of love to proud Duke Humphrey,
Modern: And pretend to be friendly with proud Duke Humphrey,

Original: And, when I spy advantage, claim the crown,
Modern: And, when I see my opportunity, I’ll claim the crown,

Original: For that’s the golden mark I seek to hit:
Modern: Because that’s the ultimate goal I’m aiming for:

Original: Nor shall proud Lancaster usurp my right,
Modern: And proud Lancaster will not steal my rightful claim,

Original: Nor hold the sceptre in his childish fist,
Modern: Nor hold the king’s scepter in his childish hand,

Original: Nor wear the diadem upon his head,
Modern: Nor wear the crown upon his head,

Original: Whose church-like humours fits not for a crown.
Modern: Whose religious, meek personality is not fit for a king.

Original: Then, York, be still awhile, till time do serve:
Modern: So, York, be patient for a while, until the time is right:

Original: Watch thou and wake when others be asleep,
Modern: Stay alert and awake when others are sleeping,

Original: To pry into the secrets of the state;
Modern: To spy on the secrets of the government;

Original: Till Henry, surfeiting in joys of love,
Modern: Until Henry, overindulging in the pleasures of love,

Original: With his new bride and England’s dear-bought queen,
Modern: With his new bride, the queen who cost England so dearly,

Original: And Humphrey with the peers be fall’n at jars:
Modern: And Humphrey and the other nobles have fallen into conflict:

Original: Then will I raise aloft the milk-white rose,
Modern: Then I will raise high the white rose,

Original: With whose sweet smell the air shall be perfumed;
Modern: Whose sweet fragrance will fill the air;

Original: And in my standard bear the arms of York
Modern: And on my battle flag I’ll display York’s coat of arms

Original: To grapple with the house of Lancaster;
Modern: To fight against the house of Lancaster;

Original: And, force perforce, I’ll make him yield the crown,
Modern: And, by force if necessary, I’ll make him surrender the crown,

Original: Whose bookish rule hath pull’d fair England down.
Modern: Whose weak, scholarly style of ruling has brought great England down.

In Act I, Scene i of “Henry VI, Part 2,” King Henry VI receives the terms of his marriage to Margaret of Anjou, which have been negotiated by the Duke of Suffolk. The agreement, read aloud by the Duke of Gloucester, reveals that Henry must surrender the territories of Anjou and Maine to Margaret’s father, Reignier, in exchange for the marriage—notably without receiving any dowry. While King Henry expresses joy at his bride’s virtues and welcomes Margaret, the assembled nobles react with shock and dismay at these unfavorable terms. Gloucester is so distressed that he drops the document and exits, followed by other lords including Cardinal Beaufort, Somerset, Buckingham, and Salisbury, who express their disapproval and concern about England’s loss of French territories that were hard-won by Henry V.

After the King and Queen depart, the remaining nobles—including Gloucester, Cardinal Beaufort, Somerset, York, Warwick, and Salisbury—engage in heated exchanges about the marriage treaty and England’s weakening position in France. York delivers a lengthy soliloquy revealing his own claim to the English throne through his descent from Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and his determination to seize power when the opportunity arises. He acknowledges that he must first help instigate trouble in Ireland and use Gloucester’s downfall as a stepping stone to advance his own ambitions. The scene establishes the political tensions between the nobles and introduces York’s secret plotting to claim the crown, setting the stage for the conflicts that will unfold throughout the play.

Henry VI, Part II opens with King Henry VI’s marriage to Margaret of Anjou, which was arranged as part of a peace treaty with France. The marriage proves politically disastrous, as Henry has agreed to surrender Maine and Anjou to France and provide no dowry, angering the English nobles. The Duke of Gloucester, Henry’s uncle and Lord Protector, opposes the marriage terms, while Cardinal Beaufort and the Duke of Suffolk, who arranged the marriage, work to undermine Gloucester’s influence. Queen Margaret quickly emerges as an ambitious figure who resents Gloucester’s power and begins plotting against him alongside Suffolk and other nobles.

The central conflict develops around the destruction of Gloucester, known as “Good Duke Humphrey.” Through a series of machinations involving his wife Eleanor’s involvement with conjurers and fortune-tellers, Gloucester is stripped of his position as Lord Protector. Eleanor is banished after being convicted of witchcraft, leaving Gloucester vulnerable. Margaret, Suffolk, Cardinal Beaufort, and others conspire to have Gloucester arrested on charges of treason. Before he can defend himself in trial, Gloucester is murdered in his bed, likely on Suffolk’s orders, shocking King Henry and the common people who loved Gloucester.

The aftermath of Gloucester’s murder destabilizes the realm further. Suffolk is banished by Henry after popular outcry against him, but he is captured and killed by pirates during his exile. Cardinal Beaufort dies tormented by guilt over Gloucester’s death. Meanwhile, Jack Cade leads a popular rebellion in Kent, claiming to be John Mortimer and demanding justice for the common people. Cade’s forces march on London, causing chaos and executing several nobles and officials before the rebellion is eventually suppressed. The play concludes with the return of Richard, Duke of York, from Ireland with an army, ostensibly to remove the remaining “traitors” around the king but actually to press his own claim to the throne, setting the stage for the Wars of the Roses that will dominate the final play in the trilogy.