Original: I cannot joy, until I be resolved
Modern: I can’t be happy until I find out for certain

Original: Where our right valiant father is become.
Modern: What has happened to our brave father.

Original: I saw him in the battle range about;
Modern: I saw him moving around during the battle;

Original: And watch’d him how he singled Clifford forth.
Modern: And I watched how he picked out Clifford as his target.

Original: Methought he bore him in the thickest troop
Modern: I thought he carried himself in the middle of the heaviest fighting

Original: As doth a lion in a herd of neat;
Modern: Like a lion among a herd of cattle;

Original: Or as a bear, encompass’d round with dogs,
Modern: Or like a bear surrounded by dogs,

Original: Who having pinch’d a few and made them cry,
Modern: Who, after biting a few and making them yelp,

Original: The rest stand all aloof, and bark at him.
Modern: Makes the rest keep their distance and just bark at him from far away.

Original: So fared our father with his enemies;
Modern: That’s how our father handled his enemies;

Original: So fled his enemies my warlike father:
Modern: That’s how his enemies ran away from my warrior father:

Original: Methinks, ‘tis prize enough to be his son.
Modern: I think it’s reward enough just to be his son.

Original: See how the morning opes her golden gates,
Modern: Look how the morning opens her golden gates,

Original: And takes her farewell of the glorious sun!
Modern: And says goodbye to the glorious sun!

Original: How well resembles it the prime of youth,
Modern: How much it looks like youth in its prime,

Original: Trimm’d like a younker prancing to his love!
Modern: Dressed up like a young man strutting toward his sweetheart!

Original: Three glorious suns, each one a perfect sun;
Modern: Three magnificent suns, each one a complete sun;

Original: Not separated with the racking clouds,
Modern: Not divided by storm clouds,

Original: But sever’d in a pale clear-shining sky.
Modern: But separated in a bright, clear sky.

Original: See, see! they join, embrace, and seem to kiss,
Modern: Look, look! They’re coming together, embracing, and seem to kiss,

Original: As if they vow’d some league inviolable:
Modern: As if they’re making an unbreakable promise:

Original: Now are they but one lamp, one light, one sun.
Modern: Now they’re just one lamp, one light, one sun.

Original: In this the heaven figures some event.
Modern: Heaven is showing us a sign of some event to come.

Original: Nay, bear three daughters: by your leave I speak it,
Modern: No, you should have three daughters on your shield: excuse me for saying it,

Original: You love the breeder better than the male.
Modern: You love the woman who makes babies better than a male heir.

Original: But what art thou, whose heavy looks foretell
Modern: But who are you, whose sad expression warns

Original: Some dreadful story hanging on thy tongue?
Modern: Of some terrible news you’re about to tell?

In Act 2, Scene 1 of Henry VI Part 3, Edward and Richard (along with their brother George, Duke of Clarence, and the Earl of Warwick) enter celebrating Edward’s recent claim to the throne. Richard reports that he saw three suns in the sky that morning, which eventually merged into one glorious sun. Edward interprets this celestial omen as representing the three sons of York united in their cause. A messenger arrives with devastating news: their father, the Duke of York, has been killed in battle at Wakefield, and his head has been placed on the gates of the city. The brothers are grief-stricken by this report of their father’s death at the hands of Queen Margaret’s forces.

Warwick then enters with his own urgent news: his brother has been slain, and he himself barely escaped with his life after being defeated in battle. Despite these losses, Warwick rallies the Yorkist forces by reminding them that they still have claim to the throne and must press forward. Additional messengers bring word that Queen Margaret is approaching with a powerful army of thirty thousand men. The Yorkists, though outnumbered with only half that force, decide to march immediately to meet Margaret’s army in battle. Edward formally takes command as the York claimant to the throne, and the scene ends with the Yorkist faction departing to engage their Lancastrian enemies despite their numerical disadvantage.

Henry VI, Part 3 opens with the aftermath of the Battle of St. Albans, where the Yorkists have achieved victory over the Lancastrians. The Duke of York enters Parliament and claims the throne, leading to a confrontation with King Henry VI. A compromise is reached whereby Henry remains king for his lifetime but agrees to disinherit his son Prince Edward in favor of York and his heirs. When Queen Margaret learns of this arrangement, she is furious and raises an army to defend her son’s birthright.

The conflict escalates into full civil war. Margaret’s forces defeat and kill the Duke of York at the Battle of Wakefield, but York’s sons—Edward, George, and Richard—continue the fight. They achieve victory at the Battle of Towton, where King Henry is captured and Edward of York is proclaimed King Edward IV. Henry escapes and flees to Scotland with Margaret and Prince Edward, while Edward IV consolidates his power and marries Elizabeth Woodville, causing tension with his supporter the Earl of Warwick.

Warwick, feeling betrayed by Edward’s marriage, switches sides and allies with Margaret and the exiled Henry VI. With French support, they invade England and briefly restore Henry to the throne while Edward flees to Burgundy. However, Edward returns with an army and reclaims his crown. The final act culminates in the Battle of Tewkesbury, where the Yorkists achieve decisive victory. Prince Edward is killed in battle, Queen Margaret is captured, and Henry VI is murdered in the Tower of London by Richard of Gloucester. The play concludes with Edward IV seemingly secure on the throne, though Richard’s final soliloquy hints at his own future ambitions for the crown.