Original: Needs must I like it well: I weep for joy
Modern: I have to love this: I’m crying tears of happiness

Original: To stand upon my kingdom once again.
Modern: To be standing on my kingdom’s soil again.

Original: Dear earth, I do salute thee with my hand,
Modern: Dear earth, I greet you by touching you with my hand,

Original: Though rebels wound thee with their horses’ hoofs:
Modern: Even though rebels hurt you with their horses’ hooves.

Original: As a long-parted mother with her child
Modern: Like a mother who has been separated from her child for a long time

Original: Plays fondly with her tears and smiles in meeting,
Modern: Lovingly cries and smiles at the same time when they’re reunited,

Original: So, weeping, smiling, greet I thee, my earth,
Modern: That’s how I greet you, my earth—crying and smiling at once,

Original: And do thee favours with my royal hands.
Modern: And I bless you with my royal touch.

Original: Feed not thy sovereign’s foe, my gentle earth,
Modern: Don’t nourish my enemies, my gentle earth,

Original: Nor with thy sweets comfort his ravenous sense;
Modern: And don’t comfort their greedy appetites with your good things.

Original: But let thy spiders, that suck up thy venom,
Modern: Instead, let your spiders, who absorb your poison,

Original: And heavy-gaited toads lie in their way,
Modern: And slow-moving, heavy toads block their path,

Original: Doing annoyance to the treacherous feet
Modern: Causing trouble for the traitorous feet

Original: Which with usurping steps do trample thee:
Modern: That walk all over you with their stealing, conquering steps.

Original: Yield stinging nettles to mine enemies;
Modern: Give my enemies painful, stinging weeds;

Original: And when they from thy bosom pluck a flower,
Modern: And when they try to pick a flower from your soil,

Original: Guard it, I pray thee, with a lurking adder
Modern: Please protect it with a hidden snake

Original: Whose double tongue may with a mortal touch
Modern: Whose forked tongue can, with a deadly strike,

Original: Throw death upon thy sovereign’s enemies.
Modern: Bring death to your rightful king’s enemies.

Original: Mock not my senseless conjuration, lords:
Modern: Don’t make fun of my seemingly crazy spell, my lords:

Original: This earth shall have a feeling and these stones
Modern: This earth will have emotions and these stones

Original: Prove armed soldiers, ere her native king
Modern: Will become armed soldiers before her true-born king

Original: Shall falter under foul rebellion’s arms.
Modern: Will fail under the weapons of this evil rebellion.

In Act III, Scene 2 of Richard II, King Richard returns to England from his campaign in Ireland to find his kingdom in turmoil. Landing on the coast of Wales, Richard expresses his joy at being back on English soil and his confidence that the land itself will rise to defend its rightful king against Bolingbroke’s rebellion. He is initially optimistic, believing that his divine right as monarch will protect him. However, this confidence is repeatedly shattered as messengers arrive with increasingly dire news: the Welsh forces have disbanded believing Richard dead, his favorites Bushy, Bagot, and Green have been executed by Bolingbroke, and his uncle the Duke of York has joined with the rebel forces.

As each piece of bad news arrives, Richard’s emotional state swings dramatically from despair to hope and back again. The Bishop of Carlisle and the Duke of Aumerle attempt to encourage him to take action and fight for his crown, but Richard becomes increasingly fatalistic and contemplative about the nature of kingship and mortality. He delivers several speeches meditating on death, the vanity of royal power, and the inevitability of his downfall. By the scene’s end, when he learns that his remaining supporters have fled to Bolingbroke, Richard falls into complete despair and decides to retreat to Flint Castle, effectively abandoning any real attempt to resist Bolingbroke’s rebellion.

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.