Original: Look on thy country, look on fertile France,
Modern: Look at your country, look at rich and fertile France,

Original: And see the cities and the towns defaced
Modern: And see how the cities and towns have been destroyed

Original: By wasting ruin of the cruel foe.
Modern: By the devastating destruction of our cruel enemies.

Original: As looks the mother on her lowly babe
Modern: Like a mother looking down at her humble baby

Original: When death doth close his tender dying eyes,
Modern: When death closes his gentle, dying eyes,

Original: See, see the pining malady of France;
Modern: Look, look at France’s wasting sickness;

Original: Behold the wounds, the most unnatural wounds,
Modern: See the wounds, these most horrible wounds,

Original: Which thou thyself hast given her woful breast.
Modern: Which you yourself have given to her sorrowful heart.

Original: O, turn thy edged sword another way;
Modern: Oh, point your sharp sword in a different direction;

Original: Strike those that hurt, and hurt not those that help.
Modern: Attack those who harm us, and don’t hurt those who help us.

Original: One drop of blood drawn from thy country’s bosom
Modern: One drop of blood taken from your own country’s heart

Original: Should grieve thee more than streams of foreign gore:
Modern: Should make you sadder than rivers of foreign blood:

Original: Return thee therefore with a flood of tears,
Modern: So come back home with tears flooding from your eyes,

Original: And wash away thy country’s stained spots.
Modern: And wash away your country’s shameful marks.

Original: Besides, all French and France exclaims on thee,
Modern: Besides, all French people and France itself cry out against you,

Original: Doubting thy birth and lawful progeny.
Modern: Questioning whether you’re truly French-born and legitimate.

Original: Who joint’st thou with but with a lordly nation
Modern: Who are you joining with except a proud nation

Original: That will not trust thee but for profit’s sake?
Modern: That only trusts you when they can profit from it?

Original: When Talbot hath set footing once in France
Modern: When Talbot has established himself in France

Original: And fashion’d thee that instrument of ill,
Modern: And made you into his tool for evil,

Original: Who then but English Henry will be lord
Modern: Who will be the ruler then except English King Henry

Original: And thou be thrust out like a fugitive?
Modern: And you’ll be kicked out like a runaway criminal?

Original: Call we to mind, and mark but this for proof,
Modern: Let us remember, and notice this as evidence,

Original: Was not the Duke of Orleans thy foe?
Modern: Wasn’t the Duke of Orleans your enemy?

Original: And was he not in England prisoner?
Modern: And wasn’t he held as a prisoner in England?

Original: But when they heard he was thine enemy,
Modern: But when they heard he was your enemy,

Original: They set him free without his ransom paid,
Modern: They released him without making him pay any ransom,

Original: In spite of Burgundy and all his friends.
Modern: Despite you, Burgundy, and all your allies.

Original: See, then, thou fight’st against thy countrymen
Modern: So you see, you’re fighting against your own people

Original: And joint’st with them will be thy slaughtermen.
Modern: And joining with those who will eventually kill you.

Original: Come, come, return; return, thou wandering lord:
Modern: Come on, come back; return home, you lost lord:

Original: Charles and the rest will take thee in their arms.
Modern: Charles and the others will welcome you with open arms.

In Act III, Scene 3 of Henry VI, Part 1, the English forces led by Joan la Pucelle (Joan of Arc) and the Dauphin Charles arrive at the gates of Rouen, which is currently held by the English under Burgundy’s alliance. Joan employs persuasive rhetoric to convince the Duke of Burgundy to abandon his allegiance to the English and rejoin the French cause. She appeals to his sense of French patriotism and loyalty to his native land, arguing that he has been fighting against his own countrymen and natural allegiances. Joan’s speech emphasizes the destruction that the English occupation has brought to France and questions why Burgundy would continue to support foreign invaders against his own people.

Burgundy is swayed by Joan’s arguments and decides to switch sides, renouncing his alliance with the English and pledging his support to the French cause and the Dauphin Charles. This defection represents a significant military and political shift in the ongoing conflict, as Burgundy’s forces and strategic position strengthen the French while simultaneously weakening English control in the region. The scene concludes with Burgundy formally declaring his allegiance to France and agreeing to join forces with Charles and Joan against the English occupation forces.

Henry VI, Part 1 opens with the funeral of King Henry V, England’s great warrior king. The English nobles mourn his death while news arrives of military disasters in France, where English territories are being lost to French forces led by the Dauphin Charles. The Duke of Gloucester and the Bishop of Winchester engage in a bitter power struggle over control of the young King Henry VI, creating division within the English court.

In France, Joan of Pucelle (Joan of Arc) arrives at the French court, claiming divine guidance to drive the English from French soil. She demonstrates her supernatural powers and convinces the Dauphin of her mission. Joan leads the French forces to several victories, including the recapture of Orléans from the English. Meanwhile, the English hero Lord Talbot fights valiantly but faces increasingly difficult circumstances as French resistance grows stronger under Joan’s leadership.

The English nobles’ internal conflicts intensify when Richard Plantagenet (later Duke of York) and Edmund Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, quarrel in the Temple Garden. Their dispute leads to the symbolic plucking of white and red roses, representing the future Wars of the Roses. Plantagenet seeks to restore his family’s honor after his father’s execution for treason, while Somerset defends the Lancastrian cause.

The play concludes with the capture and execution of Joan of Pucelle by the English, though not before she attempts various defenses including claims of pregnancy. Despite her death, the French continue their resistance. Lord Talbot dies heroically in battle alongside his son John at Bordeaux, abandoned by the feuding English nobles who fail to send reinforcements. The Earl of Suffolk captures Margaret of Anjou and arranges her marriage to King Henry VI, setting the stage for future conflicts. The play ends with the English position in France severely weakened and internal divisions threatening the stability of the English crown.