Original: Look, what is done cannot be now amended:
Modern: Listen, what’s already been done can’t be changed now:

Original: Men shall deal unadvisedly sometimes,
Modern: Men sometimes act without thinking things through,

Original: Which after hours give leisure to repent.
Modern: And later have time to regret their actions.

Original: If I did take the kingdom from your sons,
Modern: If I took the kingdom away from your sons,

Original: To make amends, Ill give it to your daughter.
Modern: To make up for it, I’ll give it to your daughter.

Original: If I have kill’d the issue of your womb,
Modern: If I have killed your children,

Original: To quicken your increase, I will beget
Modern: To replace your family line, I will father

Original: Mine issue of your blood upon your daughter
Modern: My children with your daughter

Original: A grandam’s name is little less in love
Modern: Being called grandmother is almost as loving

Original: Than is the doting title of a mother;
Modern: As being called mother;

Original: They are as children but one step below,
Modern: Grandchildren are like your own children, just one generation removed,

Original: Even of your mettle, of your very blood;
Modern: Made of your same spirit and blood;

Original: Of an one pain, save for a night of groans
Modern: Born from the same kind of pain, except for one night of labor

Original: Endured of her, for whom you bid like sorrow.
Modern: That she will endure, which will cause you similar worry.

Original: Your children were vexation to your youth,
Modern: Your children caused you trouble when you were young,

Original: But mine shall be a comfort to your age.
Modern: But my children will bring you comfort in your old age.

Original: The loss you have is but a son being king,
Modern: What you’ve lost is just having a son as king,

Original: And by that loss your daughter is made queen.
Modern: And through that loss, your daughter becomes queen.

Original: I cannot make you what amends I would,
Modern: I can’t give you all the compensation I’d like to,

Original: Therefore accept such kindness as I can.
Modern: So please accept whatever kindness I can offer.

Original: Dorset your son, that with a fearful soul
Modern: Your son Dorset, who with a worried heart

Original: Leads discontented steps in foreign soil,
Modern: Walks unhappily in foreign lands,

Original: This fair alliance quickly shall call home
Modern: This good marriage will quickly bring him home

Original: To high promotions and great dignity:
Modern: To important positions and great honor:

Original: The king, that calls your beauteous daughter wife.
Modern: The king who calls your beautiful daughter his wife

Original: Familiarly shall call thy Dorset brother;
Modern: Will warmly call your son Dorset his brother;

Original: Again shall you be mother to a king,
Modern: Once again you’ll be the mother of a king,

Original: And all the ruins of distressful times
Modern: And all the damage from these troubled times

Original: Repair’d with double riches of content.
Modern: Will be healed with twice as much happiness.

Original: What! we have many goodly days to see:
Modern: Think of it! We have many good days ahead of us:

Original: The liquid drops of tears that you have shed
Modern: All the tears you have cried

Original: Shall come again, transform’d to orient pearl,
Modern: Will return, changed into precious pearls,

Original: Advantaging their loan with interest
Modern: Paying back what you invested with interest

Original: Of ten times double gain of happiness.
Modern: Of twenty times more happiness.

Original: Go, then my mother, to thy daughter go
Modern: Go then, my mother-in-law, go to your daughter

Original: Make bold her bashful years with your experience;
Modern: Give her shy youth confidence through your wisdom;

Original: Prepare her ears to hear a wooer’s tale
Modern: Get her ready to hear a suitor’s words of love

Original: Put in her tender heart the aspiring flame
Modern: Fill her gentle heart with the ambitious desire

Original: Of golden sovereignty; acquaint the princess
Modern: For royal power; teach the princess

Original: With the sweet silent hours of marriage joys
Modern: About the sweet, quiet pleasures of married life

Original: And when this arm of mine hath chastised
Modern: And when I have punished

Original: The petty rebel, dull-brain’d Buckingham,
Modern: That small-time rebel, stupid Buckingham,

Original: Bound with triumphant garlands will I come
Modern: I’ll return crowned with victory wreaths

Original: And lead thy daughter to a conqueror’s bed;
Modern: And take your daughter to a conqueror’s wedding bed;

Original: To whom I will retail my conquest won,
Modern: I’ll tell her all about the victories I’ve won,

Original: And she shall be sole victress, Caesar’s Caesar.
Modern: And she will be the ultimate winner, the ruler of rulers.

Act IV, Scene iv of Richard III opens with old Queen Margaret, the widow of Henry VI, who has lingered in England to witness the downfall of the House of York. She reflects with bitter satisfaction on the suffering that has befallen those who wronged her, tallying the losses of Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of York against her own past griefs. When Elizabeth and the Duchess enter, mourning the deaths of the young princes in the Tower, Margaret reveals herself and engages them in a formal, ritualistic exchange of lamentation. She catalogs the losses each woman has suffered, comparing their sorrows to her own, and ultimately takes her leave to return to France, satisfied that her curses against the House of York have come to pass. The Duchess of York and Queen Elizabeth are left together in their shared grief as Richard arrives with his retinue.

Richard, seeking to consolidate his power, attempts to persuade Queen Elizabeth to act as his advocate with her daughter, the young Princess Elizabeth, whom he wishes to marry in order to strengthen his political position. A lengthy and combative exchange follows between Richard and Queen Elizabeth, in which she matches him argument for argument, deflecting and parrying his manipulative rhetoric. Throughout the scene, Richard also receives a series of urgent messages from his military commanders reporting the advance of Richmond’s forces and the defection of various nobles to Richmond’s cause. Richard responds to each piece of news with volatile swings between confidence and agitation. By the scene’s end, he rides off to marshal his forces, while Queen Elizabeth departs, leaving Richard uncertain as to whether she has agreed to support his suit for her daughter’s hand.

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.