Original: Finds brotherhood in thee no sharper spur?
Modern: Doesn’t your brotherhood with him motivate you more strongly?

Original: Hath love in thy old blood no living fire?
Modern: Is there no burning love left in your aging heart?

Original: Edward’s seven sons, whereof thyself art one,
Modern: King Edward had seven sons, and you are one of them,

Original: Were as seven vials of his sacred blood,
Modern: You were like seven containers holding his royal blood,

Original: Or seven fair branches springing from one root:
Modern: Or seven beautiful branches growing from the same tree:

Original: Some of those seven are dried by nature’s course,
Modern: Some of those seven have died naturally from old age,

Original: Some of those branches by the Destinies cut;
Modern: Some of those branches have been cut down by fate;

Original: But Thomas, my dear lord, my life, my Gloucester,
Modern: But Thomas, my beloved husband, my life, my Duke of Gloucester,

Original: One vial full of Edward’s sacred blood,
Modern: One container full of King Edward’s royal blood,

Original: One flourishing branch of his most royal root,
Modern: One thriving branch from his most noble family tree,

Original: Is crack’d, and all the precious liquor spilt,
Modern: Has been shattered, and all the precious contents spilled out,

Original: Is hack’d down, and his summer leaves all faded,
Modern: Has been chopped down, and all his vibrant life has withered away,

Original: By envy’s hand and murder’s bloody axe.
Modern: By the hand of jealousy and the bloody weapon of murder.

Original: Ah, Gaunt, his blood was thine! that bed, that womb,
Modern: Oh, Gaunt, he shared your blood! The same mother’s bed and womb,

Original: That metal, that self-mould, that fashion’d thee
Modern: That same substance, that same form that shaped you

Original: Made him a man; and though thou livest and breathest,
Modern: Also made him a man; and even though you’re still alive and breathing,

Original: Yet art thou slain in him: thou dost consent
Modern: You are also dead through his death: you are agreeing

Original: In some large measure to thy father’s death,
Modern: To a great extent to your own father’s death,

Original: In that thou seest thy wretched brother die,
Modern: Because you’re watching your miserable brother die,

Original: Who was the model of thy father’s life.
Modern: Who was the perfect image of your father’s character.

Original: Call it not patience, Gaunt; it is despair:
Modern: Don’t call it patience, Gaunt; it’s actually despair:

Original: In suffering thus thy brother to be slaughter’d,
Modern: By allowing your brother to be murdered like this,

Original: Thou showest the naked pathway to thy life,
Modern: You’re showing a clear path to your own destruction,

Original: Teaching stern murder how to butcher thee:
Modern: Teaching ruthless killers exactly how to murder you:

Original: That which in mean men we intitle patience
Modern: What we call patience in common men

Original: Is pale cold cowardice in noble breasts.
Modern: Is nothing but weak, cold cowardice in the hearts of nobles.

Original: What shall I say? to safeguard thine own life,
Modern: What more can I say? To protect your own life,

Original: The best way is to venge my Gloucester’s death.
Modern: The best thing to do is to get revenge for my Gloucester’s death.

In Act I, Scene ii of Richard II, the Duchess of Gloucester meets with John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, at his palace. The Duchess, who is the widow of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester (Gaunt’s brother), passionately urges Gaunt to seek revenge for her husband’s murder. She believes that King Richard II was responsible for Woodstock’s death and implores Gaunt to take action against the king, arguing that by allowing his brother’s killer to go unpunished, Gaunt dishonors both his family lineage and his own blood.

Gaunt responds to the Duchess’s pleas by explaining that he cannot take revenge against God’s anointed king, as Richard’s divine right to rule makes him answerable only to heaven. He tells her that God will eventually punish Richard for any wrongdoing, and that it is not Gaunt’s place to act as judge and executioner. The Duchess, frustrated by Gaunt’s refusal to act, departs for her home at Plashy, while Gaunt prepares to attend the trial by combat between Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray. The scene establishes the political tensions surrounding Gloucester’s suspicious death and highlights the conflict between personal justice and divine kingship.

Richard II opens with King Richard presiding over a dispute between Henry Bolingbroke (John of Gaunt’s son) and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Both men accuse each other of treason, and when Richard cannot reconcile them, he arranges a trial by combat. However, just as the combat is about to begin, Richard stops the fight and banishes both men from England - Mowbray for life and Bolingbroke for six years, later reduced to four.

When John of Gaunt falls ill and dies, Richard seizes his lands and wealth to fund his wars in Ireland, effectively disinheriting Bolingbroke. This act alienates the nobility, who fear their own inheritances are now at risk. While Richard departs for his Irish campaign, Bolingbroke returns from exile with an army, ostensibly to reclaim his rightful inheritance. He quickly gains support from discontented nobles, including the Duke of York, who was left as regent in Richard’s absence.

Richard returns from Ireland to find his support has collapsed and his army has dispersed. After a series of encounters, including a pivotal scene at Flint Castle where Richard realizes his situation is hopeless, he agrees to abdicate. In a formal ceremony at Westminster, Richard hands over his crown to Bolingbroke, who becomes King Henry IV. Richard is imprisoned in Pomfret Castle, where he is eventually murdered by Sir Pierce Exton, who believes he is carrying out Henry’s wishes. The play ends with Henry expressing regret over Richard’s death and vowing to journey to the Holy Land to atone for his indirect role in the former king’s murder.