Original: Ay, Edward will use women honourably.
Modern: Yes, Edward will treat women with respect and honor.

Original: Would he were wasted, marrow, bones and all,
Modern: I wish he would waste away completely, down to his bone marrow,

Original: That from his loins no hopeful branch may spring,
Modern: So that no children could be born from him,

Original: To cross me from the golden time I look for!
Modern: To block me from the glorious future I’m waiting for!

Original: And yet, between my soul’s desire and me—
Modern: But still, standing between what my soul wants and me—

Original: The lustful Edward’s title buried—
Modern: Once lustful Edward’s claim to the throne is gone—

Original: Is Clarence, Henry, and his son young Edward,
Modern: There’s still Clarence, Henry, and his son young Edward,

Original: And all the unlook’d for issue of their bodies,
Modern: And all the unexpected children they might have,

Original: To take their rooms, ere I can place myself:
Modern: Who must be dealt with before I can take my position:

Original: A cold premeditation for my purpose!
Modern: It’s a chilling calculation to consider for my goal!

Original: Why, then, I do but dream on sovereignty;
Modern: So really, I’m just fantasizing about being king;

Original: Like one that stands upon a promontory,
Modern: Like someone standing on a high cliff,

Original: And spies a far-off shore where he would tread,
Modern: Who sees a distant shore where he wants to walk,

Original: Wishing his foot were equal with his eye,
Modern: Wishing his feet could reach as far as his eyes can see,

Original: And chides the sea that sunders him from thence,
Modern: And curses the ocean that separates him from that place,

Original: Saying, he’ll lade it dry to have his way:
Modern: Saying he’ll scoop the sea dry to get there:

Original: So do I wish the crown, being so far off;
Modern: That’s how I desire the crown, since it’s so far away;

Original: And so I chide the means that keeps me from it;
Modern: And so I curse the obstacles that keep me from it;

Original: And so I say, I’ll cut the causes off,
Modern: And so I say I’ll eliminate those obstacles,

Original: Flattering me with impossibilities.
Modern: Even though I’m deceiving myself with impossible dreams.

Original: My eye’s too quick, my heart o’erweens too much,
Modern: My vision is too ambitious, my heart too prideful,

Original: Unless my hand and strength could equal them.
Modern: Unless my actions and power can match my ambitions.

Original: Well, say there is no kingdom then for Richard;
Modern: Well, suppose there’s no throne in the future for Richard;

Original: What other pleasure can the world afford?
Modern: What other pleasure can the world offer me?

Original: I’ll make my heaven in a lady’s lap,
Modern: I’ll find my happiness in a woman’s embrace,

Original: And deck my body in gay ornaments,
Modern: And dress my body in fancy, colorful clothes,

Original: And witch sweet ladies with my words and looks.
Modern: And charm sweet ladies with my words and appearance.

Original: O miserable thought! and more unlikely
Modern: Oh, what a pathetic idea! And even more impossible

Original: Than to accomplish twenty golden crowns!
Modern: Than winning twenty kingdoms!

Original: Why, love forswore me in my mother’s womb:
Modern: Love rejected me before I was even born:

Original: And, for I should not deal in her soft laws,
Modern: And, to make sure I wouldn’t experience love’s gentle rules,

Original: She did corrupt frail nature with some bribe,
Modern: Love bribed weak Nature with something,

Original: To shrink mine arm up like a wither’d shrub;
Modern: To shrivel my arm up like a dried-out plant;

Original: To make an envious mountain on my back,
Modern: To create a hateful hump on my back,

Original: Where sits deformity to mock my body;
Modern: Where deformity sits to make fun of my body;

Original: To shape my legs of an unequal size;
Modern: To make my legs uneven in length;

Original: To disproportion me in every part,
Modern: To make every part of me misshapen,

Original: Like to a chaos, or an unlick’d bear-whelp
Modern: Like a chaos, or a newborn bear cub that hasn’t been licked into shape by its mother

Original: That carries no impression like the dam.
Modern: That bears no resemblance to its parent.

Original: And am I then a man to be beloved?
Modern: So am I a man who could be loved?

Original: O monstrous fault, to harbour such a thought!
Modern: Oh, what a terrible mistake, to even consider such a thought!

Original: Then, since this earth affords no joy to me,
Modern: So, since this world offers me no happiness,

Original: But to command, to cheque, to o’erbear such
Modern: Except to command, to control, to dominate those

Original: As are of better person than myself,
Modern: Who are better-looking than I am,

Original: I’ll make my heaven to dream upon the crown,
Modern: I’ll make my paradise be dreaming about the crown,

Original: And, whiles I live, to account this world but hell,
Modern: And, while I’m alive, I’ll consider this world nothing but hell,

Original: Until my mis-shaped trunk that bears this head
Modern: Until my deformed body that carries this head

Original: Be round impaled with a glorious crown.
Modern: Is surrounded and crowned with a glorious crown.

Original: And yet I know not how to get the crown,
Modern: But still I don’t know how to get the crown,

Original: For many lives stand between me and home:
Modern: Because many people’s lives stand between me and my goal:

Original: And I,—like one lost in a thorny wood,
Modern: And I’m like someone lost in a forest full of thorns,

Original: That rends the thorns and is rent with the thorns,
Modern: Who tears at the thorns while being torn by the thorns,

Original: Seeking a way and straying from the way;
Modern: Looking for a path but wandering off that path;

Original: Not knowing how to find the open air,
Modern: Not knowing how to find the way out,

Original: But toiling desperately to find it out,—
Modern: But struggling desperately to find it,—

Original: Torment myself to catch the English crown:
Modern: I torture myself trying to seize the English crown:

Original: And from that torment I will free myself,
Modern: And I will free myself from that torture,

Original: Or hew my way out with a bloody axe.
Modern: Or I’ll chop my way out with a bloody axe.

Original: Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile,
Modern: Why, I can smile and commit murder while I’m smiling,

Original: And cry ‘Content’ to that which grieves my heart,
Modern: And say I’m happy about things that actually hurt me,

Original: And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
Modern: And make myself cry fake tears,

Original: And frame my face to all occasions.
Modern: And adjust my facial expressions to fit any situation.

Original: I’ll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall;
Modern: I’ll drown more sailors than the mermaid’s song can;

Original: I’ll slay more gazers than the basilisk;
Modern: I’ll kill more people with a look than the basilisk (a mythical serpent);

Original: I’ll play the orator as well as Nestor,
Modern: I’ll speak as eloquently as Nestor (a legendary Greek speaker),

Original: Deceive more slily than Ulysses could,
Modern: I’ll deceive more cunningly than Ulysses ever did,

Original: And, like a Sinon, take another Troy.
Modern: And, like Sinon (who tricked the Trojans), I’ll conquer another city through deception.

Original: I can add colours to the chameleon,
Modern: I can change appearances better than a chameleon,

Original: Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
Modern: I can transform myself

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.