Original: Go, bear him in thine arms.
Modern: Go, carry him in your arms.

Original: I am amazed, methinks, and lose my way
Modern: I am confused, I think, and have lost my direction

Original: Among the thorns and dangers of this world.
Modern: Among the troubles and dangers of this world.

Original: How easy dost thou take all England up!
Modern: How easily you pick up all of England!

Original: From forth this morsel of dead royalty,
Modern: From this small piece of dead kingship,

Original: The life, the right and truth of all this realm
Modern: The life, the rightful rule and truth of this entire kingdom

Original: Is fled to heaven; and England now is left
Modern: Has escaped to heaven; and England is now left

Original: To tug and scamble and to part by the teeth
Modern: To fight and scramble and tear apart with their teeth

Original: The unowed interest of proud-swelling state.
Modern: The unearned claims to this arrogant, growing power.

Original: Now for the bare-pick’d bone of majesty
Modern: Now for the stripped-clean bone of royal power

Original: Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest
Modern: Stubborn war raises its angry head

Original: And snarleth in the gentle eyes of peace:
Modern: And snarls in the face of gentle peace:

Original: Now powers from home and discontents at home
Modern: Now foreign armies and unhappy people at home

Original: Meet in one line; and vast confusion waits,
Modern: Come together in battle; and great chaos waits,

Original: As doth a raven on a sick-fall’n beast,
Modern: Like a raven waiting over a sick, dying animal,

Original: The imminent decay of wrested pomp.
Modern: For the coming downfall of stolen glory.

Original: Now happy he whose cloak and cincture can
Modern: Now lucky is the person whose coat and belt can

Original: Hold out this tempest. Bear away that child
Modern: Protect him from this storm. Carry away that child

Original: And follow me with speed: I’ll to the king:
Modern: And follow me quickly: I’ll go to the king:

Original: A thousand businesses are brief in hand,
Modern: A thousand urgent matters need immediate attention,

Original: And heaven itself doth frown upon the land.
Modern: And heaven itself is angry with this country.

In Act IV, Scene iii of King John, Hubert enters carrying what appears to be Arthur’s dead body, lamenting his role in the young prince’s death. The Bastard discovers him and initially suspects Hubert of murdering Arthur, threatening him with his sword. However, when Hubert explains that Arthur died attempting to escape by leaping from the castle walls, the Bastard’s anger shifts from Hubert to King John, whom he holds ultimately responsible for driving Arthur to such desperate measures. Hubert reveals that he had actually disobeyed the King’s order to blind Arthur and had kept him alive in secret.

The scene intensifies when Salisbury, Pembroke, and Bigot arrive, having abandoned King John’s court in outrage over Arthur’s apparent murder. They discover Arthur’s body and immediately assume John ordered his execution, vowing to seek revenge. Despite the Bastard’s attempts to maintain their loyalty to the English crown and his warnings about the French invasion led by the Dauphin Lewis, the nobles remain resolute in their decision to defect. They depart to join the French forces, leaving the Bastard to contemplate the dire consequences of Arthur’s death for England’s political stability. Hubert and the Bastard exit together, with the Bastard determined to confront King John about the catastrophic situation.

King John opens with King Philip of France supporting Arthur, the young son of John’s deceased brother Geoffrey, as the rightful heir to the English throne. John’s mother, Queen Eleanor, and the French court engage in heated disputes over legitimacy. Meanwhile, the Bastard (Philip Faulconbridge), illegitimate son of Richard the Lionheart, joins John’s cause after being legitimized. War breaks out between England and France, with the strategic town of Angiers caught between the two armies.

The conflict temporarily resolves when John’s niece Blanche marries the French Dauphin Lewis, uniting the two kingdoms. However, Cardinal Pandulph arrives from Rome and excommunicates John for refusing to accept Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury. The Cardinal persuades France to break the peace and resume war against the excommunicated English king. In the ensuing battle, Arthur is captured by John’s forces.

John orders Hubert to kill the young Arthur, but Hubert cannot bring himself to murder the child and instead hides him. When Arthur later dies attempting to escape from his prison tower, the English nobles believe John has murdered him and defect to join the invading French forces led by the Dauphin. As John faces rebellion from within and invasion from without, he submits to the Pope’s authority to regain legitimacy. However, he falls ill and is poisoned by a monk at Swinstead Abbey.

The Bastard rallies the remaining English forces and discovers that the French nobles plan to kill their English allies after victory. This intelligence helps reconcile the English lords to their king. John dies, and his young son Henry is crowned King Henry III. The Dauphin withdraws his forces, and Cardinal Pandulph negotiates peace. The play concludes with the Bastard delivering a patriotic speech about England’s strength when united against foreign threats.