Original: My lord, my lord,
Modern: My lord, my lord,

Original: I am a simple woman, much too weak
Modern: I am just a simple woman, far too weak

Original: To oppose your cunning. You’re meek and humble-mouth’d;
Modern: To fight against your scheming. You act meek and speak humbly;

Original: You sign your place and calling, in full seeming,
Modern: You display your position and religious duties, appearing to be

Original: With meekness and humility; but your heart
Modern: Modest and humble; but your heart

Original: Is cramm’d with arrogancy, spleen, and pride.
Modern: Is stuffed full of arrogance, spite, and pride.

Original: You have, by fortune and his highness’ favours,
Modern: You have, through luck and the king’s support,

Original: Gone slightly o’er low steps and now are mounted
Modern: Easily climbed over lesser positions and now you’re elevated

Original: Where powers are your retainers, and your words,
Modern: To where powerful people serve you, and your words,

Original: Domestics to you, serve your will as’t please
Modern: Like servants to you, carry out your wishes however it pleases

Original: Yourself pronounce their office. I must tell you,
Modern: You to declare their purpose. I must tell you,

Original: You tender more your person’s honour than
Modern: You care more about your personal reputation than

Original: Your high profession spiritual: that again
Modern: Your sacred religious calling: so once again

Original: I do refuse you for my judge; and here,
Modern: I reject you as my judge; and here,

Original: Before you all, appeal unto the pope,
Modern: In front of all of you, I appeal to the Pope,

Original: To bring my whole cause ‘fore his holiness,
Modern: To bring my entire case before his holiness,

Original: And to be judged by him.
Modern: And to have him judge me.

In Act II, Scene iv of “Henry VIII,” the formal trial of Queen Katherine begins before a ecclesiastical court presided over by Cardinals Wolsey and Campeius. King Henry opens the proceedings by explaining his troubled conscience regarding the validity of his marriage to Katherine, citing concerns that their union may be unlawful since she was previously married to his deceased brother Arthur. He emphasizes that his doubts stem from religious scruples rather than any desire to abandon his wife, noting their years of marriage and the loss of their male children as signs of divine displeasure.

Queen Katherine makes a dramatic intervention by approaching the King directly, falling at his feet and delivering an impassioned speech in her own defense. She proclaims her virtue and faithfulness as a wife, questions the authority and impartiality of the court (particularly Cardinal Wolsey, whom she views as her enemy), and requests that the case be heard in Rome rather than England. Despite the King’s attempts to reassure her of the court’s fairness and his own reluctance to proceed, Katherine refuses to participate further in what she considers illegitimate proceedings. She exits the court, ignoring repeated calls to return, while the trial continues in her absence with testimony from the Bishop of Lincoln about the King’s initial concerns regarding the marriage’s validity.

Henry VIII: Plot Summary

The play opens in the court of King Henry VIII of England, where the powerful Cardinal Wolsey has orchestrated the downfall of the Duke of Buckingham, who is arrested for treason based on the testimony of his own surveyor. Despite pleas for mercy, Buckingham is condemned and executed. Meanwhile, King Henry meets Anne Bullen (Anne Boleyn) at a masque hosted by Cardinal Wolsey and becomes captivated by her. Henry also begins to express doubts about the validity of his marriage to Queen Katherine of Aragon, claiming his conscience troubles him over the legality of the union, as Katherine was previously married to his brother Prince Arthur.

Cardinal Wolsey works to manage the political situation, but his influence begins to unravel when Henry discovers that Wolsey has been secretly corresponding with the Pope to delay the annulment of Henry’s marriage to Katherine, and that Wolsey has been accumulating enormous personal wealth. Henry strips Wolsey of his offices and powers. Wolsey, broken by his fall from grace, dies before he can be brought to formal ruin. Queen Katherine, meanwhile, is put on trial regarding the annulment of her marriage. She passionately defends herself before the court but is ultimately cast aside. She later receives a vision of blessed spirits before dying, having been given the reduced title of Princess Dowager.

With Katherine removed, Henry marries Anne Bullen, and she is crowned Queen in a grand coronation celebrated by the common people. Archbishop Cranmer, a Protestant reformer and ally of the King, comes under threat from a council of nobles who attempt to bring charges against him. Henry, however, intervenes to protect Cranmer. The play concludes with the christening of Henry and Anne’s newborn daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I, where Cranmer delivers a joyful prophecy foretelling the greatness of Elizabeth’s reign and the prosperity that will follow under her successor, King James I.