Original: They bore him barefac’d on the bier
Modern: They carried him with his face uncovered on the funeral platform

Original: (Hey non nony, nony, hey nony)
Modern: (Hey non nony, nony, hey nony)

Original: And in his grave rain’d many a tear.
Modern: And many tears fell into his grave.

Original: Fare you well, my dove!
Modern: Goodbye, my dear one!

Original: You must sing ‘A-down a-down, and you call him a-down-a.’
Modern: You have to sing ‘A-down a-down, and you call him a-down-a.’

Original: O, how the wheel becomes it!
Modern: Oh, how well the spinning wheel fits with this song!

Original: It is the false steward, that stole his master’s daughter.
Modern: It’s about the dishonest servant who ran away with his master’s daughter.

Original: There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.
Modern: Here’s rosemary - that’s for remembering.

Original: Pray you, love, remember.
Modern: Please, my love, remember me.

Original: And there is pansies, that’s for thoughts.
Modern: And here are pansies - those are for thinking of someone.

Original: There’s fennel for you, and columbines.
Modern: Here’s fennel for you, and columbines too.

Original: There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me.
Modern: Here’s rue for you, and some for me as well.

Original: We may call it herb of grace o’ Sundays.
Modern: We can call it the herb of forgiveness on Sundays.

Original: O, you must wear your rue with a difference!
Modern: Oh, but you must wear your rue in a different way than mine!

Original: There’s a daisy.
Modern: Here’s a daisy.

Original: I would give you some violets, but they wither’d all when my father died.
Modern: I would give you some violets, but they all died when my father passed away.

Original: They say he made a good end.
Modern: They say he died peacefully.

Original: For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy.
Modern: Because sweet, handsome Robin is all my happiness.

Original: And will he not come again?
Modern: Won’t he ever come back?

Original: And will he not come again?
Modern: Won’t he ever come back?

Original: No, no, he is dead;
Modern: No, no, he is dead;

Original: Go to thy deathbed;
Modern: Go to your deathbed;

Original: He never will come again.
Modern: He will never return.

Original: His beard was as white as snow,
Modern: His beard was as white as snow,

Original: All flaxen was his poll.
Modern: His hair was pale blonde.

Original: He is gone, he is gone,
Modern: He is gone, he is gone,

Original: And we cast away moan.
Modern: And we throw away our sadness.

Original: God ‘a’mercy on his soul!
Modern: God have mercy on his soul!

Original: And of all Christian souls, I pray God.
Modern: And I pray to God for all Christian souls.

Original: God b’ wi’ you.
Modern: God be with you.

In Act IV, Scene 5 of “Hamlet,” Gertrude reluctantly agrees to see Ophelia, who has been behaving strangely and speaking incoherently. When Ophelia enters, she sings fragmented songs about death, lost virginity, and betrayal, offering flowers and herbs to those present while speaking in riddles and non-sequiturs. Her madness is clearly a result of her father Polonius’s death at Hamlet’s hands. Claudius arrives and attempts to calm her, but she continues her distracted singing and speaking before exiting. The King instructs Horatio to follow and watch over her, then discusses with Gertrude how the people are troubled by Polonius’s hasty and secret burial, and how dangerous rumors are spreading about the circumstances of his death.

Laertes suddenly returns from France with an angry mob, breaking down the doors and demanding to know what happened to his father. Claudius manages to calm the furious Laertes and assures him he had no part in Polonius’s death. Ophelia enters again in her madness, and Laertes is devastated to see his sister’s mental state. She distributes more flowers symbolically—rosemary for remembrance, pansies for thoughts, fennel and columbines, rue, and a daisy—but notably has no violets to give, as they withered when her father died. After Ophelia exits again, Laertes’s grief hardens into determination for revenge, and Claudius promises to satisfy Laertes’s questions about his father’s death and help him find appropriate vengeance against the true culprit.

Hamlet tells the story of Prince Hamlet of Denmark, who is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased father. The ghost reveals that he was murdered by Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, who has now married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude and assumed the throne. Commanded by his father’s spirit to seek revenge, Hamlet struggles with doubt, melancholy, and the moral complexity of his task. To investigate the ghost’s claims and plan his revenge, he feigns madness, which creates tension throughout the Danish court.

As Hamlet deliberates, his erratic behavior affects everyone around him, particularly his love interest Ophelia, daughter of the king’s advisor Polonius. To test Claudius’s guilt, Hamlet stages a play mirroring his father’s murder, which confirms the king’s culpability. However, Hamlet’s actions become increasingly destructive—he accidentally kills Polonius while the old man spies on him, and his rejection of Ophelia contributes to her descent into genuine madness and eventual drowning.

The play reaches its climax when Ophelia’s brother Laertes returns to avenge his father’s death. Claudius manipulates Laertes into challenging Hamlet to a duel, secretly poisoning Laertes’s sword and preparing poisoned wine as backup. The final scene erupts in tragedy: during the duel, both Hamlet and Laertes are wounded by the poisoned blade, Gertrude accidentally drinks the poisoned wine, and Hamlet finally kills Claudius. As Hamlet dies, he names Prince Fortinbras of Norway as Denmark’s next ruler, bringing the cycle of revenge and political instability to a close. The play ends with Fortinbras restoring order to the Danish court as bodies are carried off in a funeral march.