Original: O, yet, for God’s sake, go not to these wars!
Modern: Oh please, for God’s sake, don’t go to these wars!

Original: The time was, father, that you broke your word,
Modern: There was a time, father, when you broke your promise,

Original: When you were more endear’d to it than now;
Modern: When you cared more about keeping it than you do now;

Original: When your own Percy, when my heart’s dear Harry,
Modern: When your own Percy, when my beloved Harry,

Original: Threw many a northward look to see his father
Modern: Kept looking north many times to see his father

Original: Bring up his powers; but he did long in vain.
Modern: Bring up his army; but he waited for nothing.

Original: Who then persuaded you to stay at home?
Modern: Who convinced you to stay home then?

Original: There were two honours lost, yours and your son’s.
Modern: Two reputations were lost, yours and your son’s.

Original: For yours, the God of heaven brighten it!
Modern: As for yours, may God in heaven restore it!

Original: For his, it stuck upon him as the sun
Modern: As for his, it shone on him like the sun

Original: In the grey vault of heaven; and by his light
Modern: In the gray dome of the sky; and by his light

Original: Did all the chivalry of England move
Modern: All the noble knights of England were inspired

Original: To do brave acts. He was indeed the glass
Modern: To do brave deeds. He was truly the mirror

Original: Wherein the noble youth did dress themselves.
Modern: That noble young men used to model themselves after.

Original: He had no legs that practis’d not his gait;
Modern: There wasn’t a man alive who didn’t copy his walk;

Original: And speaking thick, which nature made his blemish,
Modern: And his quick speech, which nature made his flaw,

Original: Became the accents of the valiant;
Modern: Became the way brave men talked;

Original: For those who could speak low and tardily
Modern: Because those who could speak slowly and softly

Original: Would turn their own perfection to abuse
Modern: Would ruin their own natural gifts

Original: To seem like him: so that in speech, in gait,
Modern: To seem like him: so that in speech, in walking,

Original: In diet, in affections of delight,
Modern: In eating habits, in what they enjoyed,

Original: In military rules, humours of blood,
Modern: In military matters, in temperament,

Original: He was the mark and glass, copy and book,
Modern: He was the target and mirror, the example and textbook,

Original: That fashion’d others. And him—O wondrous him!
Modern: That shaped others. And him—oh wonderful him!

Original: O miracle of men!—him did you leave—
Modern: Oh miracle among men!—him you abandoned—

Original: Second to none, unseconded by you—
Modern: Superior to all, but not supported by you—

Original: To look upon the hideous god of war
Modern: To face the terrible god of war

Original: In disadvantage, to abide a field
Modern: At a disadvantage, to stay on a battlefield

Original: Where nothing but the sound of Hotspur’s name
Modern: Where nothing but the sound of Hotspur’s name

Original: Did seem defensible. So you left him.
Modern: Seemed like any defense. That’s how you left him.

Original: Never, O never, do his ghost the wrong
Modern: Never, oh never, do his spirit the injustice

Original: To hold your honour more precise and nice
Modern: Of caring more carefully about your reputation

Original: With others than with him! Let them alone.
Modern: With others than you did with him! Leave them alone.

Original: The Marshal and the Archbishop are strong.
Modern: The Marshal and the Archbishop are powerful.

Original: Had my sweet Harry had but half their numbers,
Modern: If my sweet Harry had even half their soldiers,

Original: To-day might I, hanging on Hotspur’s neck,
Modern: Today I might be embracing Hotspur,

Original: Have talk’d of Monmouth’s grave.
Modern: And talking about Prince Hal’s death instead.

In Act 2, Scene 3 of “Henry IV, Part 2,” Lady Percy (also known as Kate) confronts her brother-in-law, Northumberland, as he prepares to join the rebellion against King Henry IV. She passionately reminds him of how his absence at the Battle of Shrewsbury led to the death of her husband, Hotspur (Henry Percy), who fought valiantly while Northumberland claimed illness and stayed away. Lady Percy describes in vivid detail how Hotspur was a paragon of chivalry and martial excellence, speaking, moving, and thinking only of honor and warfare, and she bitterly reproaches Northumberland for abandoning his son in his hour of greatest need.

Lady Percy urges Northumberland not to join the current rebellion, arguing that if he lacked the courage to fight for his own son’s cause, he should not now risk his life for lesser men and a weaker cause. She suggests that his current show of military resolve rings hollow given his previous failure. Her emotional appeal, combined with the counsel of his wife, Lady Northumberland, persuades the earl to flee to Scotland rather than join Archbishop Scroop’s uprising. Northumberland agrees to withdraw from the conflict, leaving the rebels to face the king’s forces without his support.

Henry IV, Part Two - Summary of Events

The play opens with Rumour spreading false news that Hotspur has defeated King Henry IV at Shrewsbury. Northumberland soon learns the truth: his son Hotspur is dead, and the rebellion has failed. Despite his grief and calls from his allies to continue the fight, Northumberland eventually flees to Scotland. Meanwhile, the rebel leaders—the Archbishop of York, Lord Mowbray, and Lord Hastings—gather forces for a new uprising against the King.

Prince Hal continues his time in the taverns of Eastcheap with Falstaff, Mistress Quickly, Doll Tearsheet, and his companions. Falstaff, deep in debt and pursued by the Hostess for unpaid bills, manipulates his way out of trouble and is eventually called to join the King’s forces. The King himself is gravely ill and troubled by insomnia, burdened by guilt over how he obtained the crown. He laments that Hal remains irresponsible and fears for England’s future under his son’s rule.

In Gaultree Forest, Prince John of Lancaster meets with the rebels under a flag of truce. He promises to address their grievances, and the rebel leaders dismiss their armies. Once the rebel forces disperse, Prince John arrests the leaders for treason and orders their execution. When the dying King Henry hears of this victory and later finds Hal with the crown at his bedside (believing him dead, Hal had taken it), father and son reconcile. Henry dies, and Hal becomes King Henry V.

As the new king, Henry V publicly rejects Falstaff, who arrives expecting rewards and favor. The King banishes his former companion from his presence, promises him support at a distance, but makes clear their relationship is over. The Lord Chief Justice is retained in his position, and the new king prepares to rule England. The epilogue promises that the story will continue with Henry V’s wars in France and hints that Falstaff will appear again.