Original: By all the blood that ever fury breathed,
Modern: I swear by all the violence that anger has ever caused,

Original: The youth says well. Now hear our English king;
Modern: The young man speaks the truth. Now listen to what our English king has to say;

Original: For thus his royalty doth speak in me.
Modern: Because his royal authority speaks through me.

Original: He is prepared, and reason too he should:
Modern: He is ready for battle, and he has good reason to be:

Original: This apish and unmannerly approach,
Modern: This ridiculous and rude invasion,

Original: This harness’d masque and unadvised revel,
Modern: This armored costume party and foolish celebration,

Original: This unhair’d sauciness and boyish troops,
Modern: This beardless insolence and army of boys,

Original: The king doth smile at; and is well prepared
Modern: The king laughs at; and he is fully prepared

Original: To whip this dwarfish war, these pigmy arms,
Modern: To crush this tiny war, these miniature forces,

Original: From out the circle of his territories.
Modern: And drive them out of his kingdom’s borders.

Original: That hand which had the strength, even at your door,
Modern: That same powerful force which, right at your doorstep,

Original: To cudgel you and make you take the hatch,
Modern: Beat you down and made you escape through the lower door,

Original: To dive like buckets in concealed wells,
Modern: To plunge like buckets down into hidden wells,

Original: To crouch in litter of your stable planks,
Modern: To hide in the straw on your stable floors,

Original: To lie like pawns lock’d up in chests and trunks,
Modern: To lie like cheap possessions locked up in boxes and storage chests,

Original: To hug with swine, to seek sweet safety out
Modern: To huddle with pigs, to search for any safety

Original: In vaults and prisons, and to thrill and shake
Modern: In cellars and jail cells, and to tremble and shake with fear

Original: Even at the crying of your nation’s crow,
Modern: Even at the sound of your country’s rooster crowing,

Original: Thinking his voice an armed Englishman;
Modern: Thinking that sound was an armed English soldier;

Original: Shall that victorious hand be feebled here,
Modern: Do you think that same victorious force will be weakened here,

Original: That in your chambers gave you chastisement?
Modern: That punished you even in your own bedrooms?

Original: No: know the gallant monarch is in arms
Modern: No: understand that the brave king is armed and ready

Original: And like an eagle o’er his aery towers,
Modern: And like an eagle soaring high above his nest,

Original: To souse annoyance that comes near his nest.
Modern: Ready to swoop down on any threat that comes near his home.

Original: And you degenerate, you ingrate revolts,
Modern: And you corrupt traitors, you ungrateful rebels,

Original: You bloody Neroes, ripping up the womb
Modern: You murderous monsters, tearing open the belly

Original: Of your dear mother England, blush for shame;
Modern: Of your own mother country England, you should be ashamed;

Original: For your own ladies and pale-visaged maids
Modern: Because your own wives and pale-faced young women

Original: Like Amazons come tripping after drums,
Modern: Like warrior women come marching after the war drums,

Original: Their thimbles into armed gauntlets change,
Modern: Their sewing thimbles transformed into armored gloves,

Original: Their needles to lances, and their gentle hearts
Modern: Their sewing needles into spears, and their tender hearts

Original: To fierce and bloody inclination.
Modern: Changed to fierce and violent desires for battle.

In Act 5, Scene 2 of “King John,” the scene opens at the Dauphin Lewis’s camp, where he receives the English nobles who have defected from King John, including Salisbury, Pembroke, and Bigot. The Dauphin welcomes them warmly and promises them honor and advancement in his service, while the nobles express their grief and shame at having to rebel against their own king. Salisbury, in particular, delivers an emotional speech about the pain of turning against England, describing how his tears represent both sorrow for their betrayal and love for their country. The Dauphin reassures them of his trust and commitment to their cause, swearing by his royal lineage that he will keep his promises to them.

The scene shifts dramatically when Pandulph, the papal legate, arrives with news that King John has made peace with Rome and reconciled with the Church. Pandulph demands that the Dauphin withdraw his invasion forces from England, but Lewis adamantly refuses, arguing that he has invested too much blood, treasure, and honor in this campaign to abandon it now based on the Pope’s command. Lewis asserts his independence and determination to see his conquest through to completion. The scene concludes with the arrival of the Bastard, who delivers a bold defiant challenge to the Dauphin on behalf of King John, declaring that England is ready to meet the French forces in battle, and the two sides prepare for the coming military confrontation.

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.