Here is the line-by-line modern paraphrase of Bolingbroke’s speech from Richard II, Act III, Scene 1:

Original: Bring forth these men.
Modern: Bring these men before me.

Original: Bushy and Green, I will not vex your souls—
Modern: Bushy and Green, I won’t torment your spirits—

Original: Since presently your souls must part your bodies—
Modern: Since your souls are about to leave your bodies very soon—

Original: With too much urging your pernicious lives,
Modern: By going on too long about how destructive and wicked your lives have been,

Original: For ‘twere no charity; yet, to wash your blood
Modern: Because that would be cruel; but still, to clear myself of blame for your deaths

Original: From off my hands, here in the view of men
Modern: Here, in front of everyone gathered as witnesses,

Original: I will unfold some causes of your deaths.
Modern: I will explain the reasons why you are being sentenced to die.

Original: You have misled a prince, a royal king,
Modern: You led astray a prince, a royal king,

Original: A happy gentleman in blood and lineaments,
Modern: A man who was naturally born noble and well-formed in every way,

Original: By you unhappied and disfigured clean:
Modern: Who was completely ruined and corrupted by the two of you:

Original: You have in manner with your sinful hours
Modern: Through your sinful and corrupt behavior

Original: Made a divorce betwixt his queen and him,
Modern: You effectively drove a wedge between the king and his queen,

Original: Broke the possession of a royal bed
Modern: You violated the sanctity of their royal marriage

Original: And stain’d the beauty of a fair queen’s cheeks
Modern: And left marks of sorrow on the face of a beautiful queen

Original: With tears drawn from her eyes by your foul wrongs.
Modern: By making her weep with the terrible wrongs you caused her.

Original: Myself, a prince by fortune of my birth,
Modern: I myself, a prince by the luck of my birth,

Original: Near to the king in blood, and near in love
Modern: Close to the king both by family ties and by affection

Original: Till you did make him misinterpret me,
Modern: Until you poisoned his mind and turned him against me,

Original: Have stoop’d my neck under your injuries,
Modern: Have had to bow my head and endure the harm you caused me,

Original: And sigh’d my English breath in foreign clouds,
Modern: And breathed the air of foreign lands, far from my English home,

Original: Eating the bitter bread of banishment;
Modern: Surviving on the hardship and misery of being exiled;

Original: Whilst you have fed upon my signories,
Modern: While you helped yourselves to my lands and estates,

Original: Dispark’d my parks and fell’d my forest woods,
Modern: Tore down the fences of my parks and cut down my forests,

Original: From my own windows torn my household coat,
Modern: Ripped my family’s coat of arms right from the windows of my own home,

Original: Razed out my imprese, leaving me no sign,
Modern: Erased my personal emblems and symbols, leaving me nothing,

Original: Save men’s opinions and my living blood,
Modern: Except for people’s memories of me and the blood still running through my veins,

Original: To show the world I am a gentleman.
Modern: To prove to the world that I am still a man of noble rank and honor.

Original: This and much more, much more than twice all this,
Modern: All of this, and far more beyond even what I’ve described,

Original: Condemns you to the death. See them deliver’d over
Modern: Is why you are condemned to die. Have them handed over

Original: To execution and the hand of death.
Modern: To be executed, and delivered into the hands of death.

In Act III, Scene 1 of Richard II, King Richard returns from his campaign in Ireland to find his kingdom in turmoil due to Bolingbroke’s invasion. The scene opens at Bristol Castle, where Richard confronts several of his supporters who have been captured by Bolingbroke’s forces, including Bushy and Green, two of the king’s favored courtiers. Bolingbroke addresses these men, accusing them of corrupting the king and leading him astray through their influence. He charges them with having caused the banishment that separated him from his dying father, John of Gaunt, and with other crimes against the realm.

Bolingbroke orders the execution of Bushy and Green, declaring that their deaths will serve as partial payment for the wrongs they have committed. The two condemned men are led away to their deaths, while Bolingbroke sends word to Queen Isabel that she will be treated with honor and courtesy despite the conflict with her husband. The scene demonstrates Bolingbroke’s growing authority and his methodical approach to removing Richard’s allies, while also showing his attempt to maintain the appearance of justice and proper conduct in his actions against the crown.

Richard II opens with King Richard presiding over a dispute between Henry Bolingbroke (John of Gaunt’s son) and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Both men accuse each other of treason, and when Richard cannot reconcile them, he arranges a trial by combat. However, just as the combat is about to begin, Richard stops the fight and banishes both men from England - Mowbray for life and Bolingbroke for six years, later reduced to four.

When John of Gaunt falls ill and dies, Richard seizes his lands and wealth to fund his wars in Ireland, effectively disinheriting Bolingbroke. This act alienates the nobility, who fear their own inheritances are now at risk. While Richard departs for his Irish campaign, Bolingbroke returns from exile with an army, ostensibly to reclaim his rightful inheritance. He quickly gains support from discontented nobles, including the Duke of York, who was left as regent in Richard’s absence.

Richard returns from Ireland to find his support has collapsed and his army has dispersed. After a series of encounters, including a pivotal scene at Flint Castle where Richard realizes his situation is hopeless, he agrees to abdicate. In a formal ceremony at Westminster, Richard hands over his crown to Bolingbroke, who becomes King Henry IV. Richard is imprisoned in Pomfret Castle, where he is eventually murdered by Sir Pierce Exton, who believes he is carrying out Henry’s wishes. The play ends with Henry expressing regret over Richard’s death and vowing to journey to the Holy Land to atone for his indirect role in the former king’s murder.