Here is the line-by-line modern paraphrase of the monologue:

Original: The gentleman is learn’d, and a most rare speaker;
Modern: This man is highly educated and an extraordinarily gifted speaker;

Original: To nature none more bound; his training such,
Modern: No one is more naturally talented than he is; his education was so thorough,

Original: That he may furnish and instruct great teachers,
Modern: That he could actually teach and guide even the greatest of teachers,

Original: And never seek for aid out of himself. Yet see,
Modern: Without ever needing help from anyone else. But look at what’s happened —

Original: When these so noble benefits shall prove
Modern: When such remarkable gifts and advantages turn out to be

Original: Not well disposed, the mind growing once corrupt,
Modern: Poorly used, and the mind becomes corrupted,

Original: They turn to vicious forms, ten times more ugly
Modern: Those same gifts twist into something wicked, ten times more horrible

Original: Than ever they were fair. This man so complete,
Modern: Than they were ever beautiful. This man, once so perfect,

Original: Who was enroll’d ‘mongst wonders, and when we,
Modern: Who was counted among the most remarkable people alive, and when we

Original: Almost with ravish’d listening, could not find
Modern: Listened to him with such total captivation that we could not find

Original: His hour of speech a minute; he, my lady,
Modern: Even a single minute too long in his speeches; he, my lady,

Original: Hath into monstrous habits put the graces
Modern: Has twisted and corrupted the very qualities and gifts

Original: That once were his, and is become as black
Modern: That once made him admirable, and has become as dark

Original: As if besmear’d in hell. Sit by us; you shall hear—
Modern: As if he had been covered in the filth of hell itself. Sit with us; you are about to hear —

Original: This was his gentleman in trust—of him
Modern: This man here was his trusted servant — and he will tell us about him,

Original: Things to strike honour sad. Bid him recount
Modern: Things so shameful they would make any honorable person grieve. Ask him to retell

Original: The fore-recited practises; whereof
Modern: The schemes and betrayals already described; which are the kind of things

Original: We cannot feel too little, hear too much.
Modern: We can never feel too little pain about, nor hear described too many times.

In Act I, Scene 2 of “Henry VIII,” King Henry holds court at his palace, where he receives Cardinal Wolsey and discusses matters of state with his council. The scene begins with the King hearing complaints about excessive taxes that Wolsey has levied upon the people, causing widespread hardship and discontent throughout the realm. Henry, appearing to be unaware of these oppressive taxes, expresses concern for his subjects and orders that the commissions for these taxes be revoked immediately, winning the gratitude of those who have come to petition him.

The scene then shifts focus when the Duke of Buckingham’s Surveyor is brought before the King to testify against his former master. The Surveyor provides damning evidence of Buckingham’s treasonous words and intentions, claiming that the Duke spoke against the King’s legitimacy, plotted to seize the throne, and made threats against Henry’s life. He also testifies that Buckingham’s father had similar treasonous ambitions and that the Duke sought revenge for his father’s execution. Despite Queen Katherine’s attempts to cast doubt on the Surveyor’s credibility by suggesting he may be a disgruntled former servant, the King finds the testimony sufficiently serious to warrant Buckingham’s continued imprisonment and further investigation into these charges of high treason.

Henry VIII: Plot Summary

The play opens in the court of King Henry VIII of England, where the powerful Cardinal Wolsey has orchestrated the downfall of the Duke of Buckingham, who is arrested for treason based on the testimony of his own surveyor. Despite pleas for mercy, Buckingham is condemned and executed. Meanwhile, King Henry meets Anne Bullen (Anne Boleyn) at a masque hosted by Cardinal Wolsey and becomes captivated by her. Henry also begins to express doubts about the validity of his marriage to Queen Katherine of Aragon, claiming his conscience troubles him over the legality of the union, as Katherine was previously married to his brother Prince Arthur.

Cardinal Wolsey works to manage the political situation, but his influence begins to unravel when Henry discovers that Wolsey has been secretly corresponding with the Pope to delay the annulment of Henry’s marriage to Katherine, and that Wolsey has been accumulating enormous personal wealth. Henry strips Wolsey of his offices and powers. Wolsey, broken by his fall from grace, dies before he can be brought to formal ruin. Queen Katherine, meanwhile, is put on trial regarding the annulment of her marriage. She passionately defends herself before the court but is ultimately cast aside. She later receives a vision of blessed spirits before dying, having been given the reduced title of Princess Dowager.

With Katherine removed, Henry marries Anne Bullen, and she is crowned Queen in a grand coronation celebrated by the common people. Archbishop Cranmer, a Protestant reformer and ally of the King, comes under threat from a council of nobles who attempt to bring charges against him. Henry, however, intervenes to protect Cranmer. The play concludes with the christening of Henry and Anne’s newborn daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I, where Cranmer delivers a joyful prophecy foretelling the greatness of Elizabeth’s reign and the prosperity that will follow under her successor, King James I.