Original: I cannot tell, if to depart in silence,
Modern: I don’t know whether I should leave without saying anything,

Original: Or bitterly to speak in your reproof.
Modern: Or speak harshly to criticize what you’re asking of me.

Original: Best fitteth my degree or your condition
Modern: Which response best suits my position and your situation?

Original: If not to answer, you might haply think
Modern: If I don’t answer, you might perhaps think

Original: Tongue-tied ambition, not replying, yielded
Modern: That my silence means my ambition has given in

Original: To bear the golden yoke of sovereignty,
Modern: To accept the burden of being king,

Original: Which fondly you would here impose on me;
Modern: Which you foolishly want to force upon me here.

Original: If to reprove you for this suit of yours,
Modern: But if I criticize you for this request of yours,

Original: So season’d with your faithful love to me.
Modern: Which is so clearly motivated by your loyal love for me,

Original: Then, on the other side, I cheque’d my friends.
Modern: Then on the other hand, I’d be rejecting my friends.

Original: Therefore, to speak, and to avoid the first,
Modern: So, I’ll speak up to avoid the first problem,

Original: And then, in speaking, not to incur the last,
Modern: And in speaking, I’ll try not to cause the second problem.

Original: Definitively thus I answer you.
Modern: Here’s my final answer to you.

Original: Your love deserves my thanks; but my desert
Modern: Your loyalty deserves my gratitude, but my own worthiness

Original: Unmeritable shuns your high request.
Modern: Is so lacking that I must refuse your noble offer.

Original: First if all obstacles were cut away,
Modern: Even if all barriers were removed,

Original: And that my path were even to the crown,
Modern: And my path to the throne were completely clear,

Original: As my ripe revenue and due by birth
Modern: As my rightful inheritance by birth,

Original: Yet so much is my poverty of spirit,
Modern: Still, I have such weakness of character,

Original: So mighty and so many my defects,
Modern: So many and so serious are my flaws,

Original: As I had rather hide me from my greatness,
Modern: That I’d rather run away from this great responsibility,

Original: Being a bark to brook no mighty sea,
Modern: Being just a small boat that can’t handle a powerful ocean,

Original: Than in my greatness covet to be hid,
Modern: Rather than seek to hide within the power of kingship

Original: And in the vapour of my glory smother’d.
Modern: And be suffocated by the clouds of my own glory.

Original: But, God be thank’d, there’s no need of me,
Modern: But, thank God, there’s no need for me to be king,

Original: And much I need to help you, if need were;
Modern: And I would badly need help myself, if it were necessary.

Original: The royal tree hath left us royal fruit,
Modern: The royal family has left us a royal heir,

Original: Which, mellow’d by the stealing hours of time,
Modern: Who, matured by the passing of time,

Original: Will well become the seat of majesty,
Modern: Will be perfectly suited for the throne,

Original: And make, no doubt, us happy by his reign.
Modern: And will surely make us all happy through his rule.

Original: On him I lay what you would lay on me,
Modern: I place on him what you want to place on me—

Original: The right and fortune of his happy stars;
Modern: The rightful claim and good fortune of his destiny,

Original: Which God defend that I should wring from him!
Modern: Which God forbid that I should steal from him!

In Act III, Scene iv (also numbered as Scene vii in some editions) of Richard III, the scene takes place at Baynard’s Castle, where Richard, Duke of Gloucester, has orchestrated an elaborate performance of reluctance and piety. Buckingham arrives with the Lord Mayor of London and various citizens, having previously worked to build public support for Richard’s claim to the throne. Richard appears above, flanked by two bishops, projecting an image of religious devotion and humility. Buckingham delivers a formal petition on behalf of the citizens, urging Richard to accept the crown of England, citing the illegitimacy of Edward IV’s children and presenting Richard as the rightful heir. Richard repeatedly and theatrically refuses the offer, feigning reluctance and protesting his unworthiness for such a great responsibility.

After several rounds of staged refusal, Richard finally relents and agrees to accept the crown, framing his acceptance as a selfless sacrifice undertaken solely for the good of the kingdom and its people. Buckingham and the assembled lords express their formal gratitude and support, and arrangements are made for Richard’s coronation. The scene concludes with Richard agreeing to meet with the Lord Mayor and citizens the following day, as the assembled company departs in apparent celebration of what they present as a moment of great civic importance. Throughout the scene, Richard and Buckingham work in close coordination, with Buckingham serving as the primary architect of the public performance designed to legitimize Richard’s seizure of the throne.

Richard III opens with Richard, Duke of Gloucester, revealing his villainous intentions to claim the throne of England. Despite his physical deformities, he is determined to remove all obstacles to his coronation. He begins by manipulating his brother Clarence into imprisonment and death, convincing King Edward IV that Clarence poses a threat. Richard also courts Lady Anne, widow of Prince Edward (whom Richard killed), successfully wooing her despite having murdered both her husband and father-in-law. When King Edward IV dies, Richard is named Lord Protector for the young Prince Edward, heir to the throne.

Richard systematically eliminates his rivals and supporters of the rightful heirs. He has Lord Hastings executed for opposing his claim to the throne, and convinces the Duke of Buckingham to help him secure power. Richard and Buckingham spread rumors about the legitimacy of Edward IV’s children, claiming they are bastards. They stage a public scene where Richard reluctantly accepts the crown after appearing to refuse it. Once crowned King Richard III, he orders the murder of the two young princes (Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York) in the Tower of London, though their deaths occur offstage.

Richard’s reign becomes increasingly tyrannical and unstable. The Duke of Buckingham eventually rebels against him and is captured and executed. Richard attempts to consolidate power by proposing to marry Elizabeth of York, his niece, but faces growing opposition. Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, lands in England with an army to claim the throne. The play culminates in the Battle of Bosworth Field, where Richard is haunted by the ghosts of all those he has murdered. Richmond defeats and kills Richard in battle, then marries Elizabeth of York to unite the warring houses of Lancaster and York, establishing the Tudor dynasty and bringing peace to England.