Original: What were you snarling all before I came,
Modern: Why were you all fighting and arguing before I arrived,

Original: Ready to catch each other by the throat,
Modern: Ready to grab each other by the throat,

Original: And turn you all your hatred now on me?
Modern: And now you’re all turning your hatred on me?

Original: Did York’s dread curse prevail so much with heaven?
Modern: Did York’s terrible curse have so much power with God?

Original: That Henry’s death, my lovely Edward’s death,
Modern: That Henry’s death and my dear Edward’s death,

Original: Their kingdom’s loss, my woful banishment,
Modern: The loss of their kingdom and my sad exile,

Original: Could all but answer for that peevish brat?
Modern: Could only pay for that spoiled child’s crimes?

Original: Can curses pierce the clouds and enter heaven?
Modern: Can curses break through the clouds and reach heaven?

Original: Why, then, give way, dull clouds, to my quick curses!
Modern: Well then, move aside, dark clouds, and make way for my swift curses!

Original: If not by war, by surfeit die your king,
Modern: If not killed in battle, let your king die from excess and gluttony,

Original: As ours by murder, to make him a king!
Modern: Just as ours was murdered to make him king!

Original: Edward thy son, which now is Prince of Wales,
Modern: Edward your son, who is now Prince of Wales,

Original: For Edward my son, which was Prince of Wales,
Modern: In exchange for Edward my son, who was Prince of Wales,

Original: Die in his youth by like untimely violence!
Modern: Let him die young by similar early violence!

Original: Thyself a queen, for me that was a queen,
Modern: You who are a queen, in place of me who was a queen,

Original: Outlive thy glory, like my wretched self!
Modern: May you outlive your glory, just like my miserable self!

Original: Long mayst thou live to wail thy children’s loss;
Modern: May you live long to mourn the loss of your children;

Original: And see another, as I see thee now,
Modern: And see another woman, just as I see you now,

Original: Deck’d in thy rights, as thou art stall’d in mine!
Modern: Dressed in your royal rights, just as you have stolen mine!

Original: Long die thy happy days before thy death;
Modern: May your happy days die long before your actual death;

Original: And, after many lengthen’d hours of grief,
Modern: And after many long hours of sorrow,

Original: Die neither mother, wife, nor England’s queen!
Modern: May you die as neither mother, wife, nor England’s queen!

Original: Rivers and Dorset, you were standers by,
Modern: Rivers and Dorset, you were standing there watching,

Original: And so wast thou, Lord Hastings, when my son
Modern: And so were you, Lord Hastings, when my son

Original: Was stabb’d with bloody daggers: God, I pray him,
Modern: Was stabbed with bloody daggers: I pray to God,

Original: That none of you may live your natural age,
Modern: That none of you will live to your natural old age,

Original: But by some unlook’d accident cut off!
Modern: But be cut down by some unexpected accident!

In Act I, Scene 3 of Richard III, beginning at line 193, Queen Elizabeth enters with her kinsmen Lord Rivers and Lord Grey, expressing anxiety about the dying King Edward IV’s condition and her vulnerable position should he die while her son, the Prince of Wales, is still young. Richard, Duke of Gloucester enters and immediately accuses the Queen and her relatives of turning the King against him and the old nobility. A heated exchange follows in which Elizabeth defends herself against Richard’s charges of having risen from humble origins to her current position through marriage, while Richard claims he has been slandered and wronged by the Queen’s faction. The argument escalates as Richard trades insults with Queen Margaret, who appears and delivers a series of bitter curses upon Richard, Elizabeth, and the entire court, reminding them of the deaths and betrayals of the Wars of the Roses.

Margaret’s lengthy tirade recalls the murder of her husband King Henry VI and her son Prince Edward, for which she holds Richard, Edward IV, and the York family responsible. She curses each person present, prophesying specific dooms: that Elizabeth will outlive her glory and see her children die, that Rivers and Grey will die by treachery, and that Richard will be tormented by sleepless nights and eventually destroyed by guilt and paranoia. After Margaret exits, Richard cynically manipulates the situation by appearing to defend Margaret’s right to curse him while simultaneously turning the others against one another. The scene concludes with Richard remaining behind to deliver a soliloquy in which he reveals his plan to have his brother Clarence murdered and blamed on the Queen’s kinsmen, demonstrating his Machiavellian skill at sowing discord while maintaining an innocent façade.

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.