Original: If heaven have any grievous plague in store
Modern: If heaven has any terrible punishment waiting

Original: Exceeding those that I can wish upon thee,
Modern: That’s worse than anything I could wish on you,

Original: O, let them keep it till thy sins be ripe,
Modern: Oh, let them save it until your sins have fully grown,

Original: And then hurl down their indignation
Modern: And then throw down their anger

Original: On thee, the troubler of the poor world’s peace!
Modern: On you, who destroys the peace of this suffering world!

Original: The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul!
Modern: May guilt eat away at your soul like a worm!

Original: Thy friends suspect for traitors while thou livest,
Modern: May you think your friends are traitors while you’re alive,

Original: And take deep traitors for thy dearest friends!
Modern: And may you trust real traitors as your closest friends!

Original: No sleep close up that deadly eye of thine,
Modern: May you never close those evil eyes in sleep,

Original: Unless it be whilst some tormenting dream
Modern: Unless it’s while some torturing nightmare

Original: Affrights thee with a hell of ugly devils!
Modern: Terrifies you with a hell full of horrible demons!

Original: Thou elvish-mark’d, abortive, rooting hog!
Modern: You fairy-cursed, deformed, grunting pig!

Original: Thou that wast seal’d in thy nativity
Modern: You who were marked from the moment you were born

Original: The slave of nature and the son of hell!
Modern: As nature’s slave and hell’s own child!

Original: Thou slander of thy mother’s heavy womb!
Modern: You disgrace to your mother’s pregnant belly!

Original: Thou loathed issue of thy father’s loins!
Modern: You hated offspring of your father’s body!

Original: Thou rag of honour! thou detested—
Modern: You worthless scrap of what should be honorable! You despised—

Act I, Scene iii of Richard III takes place in the palace, where Queen Elizabeth, her brother Lord Rivers, and her son Lord Grey are in conversation about the ailing King Edward IV. Elizabeth expresses her fears about what will happen to her and her children should the king die, knowing that Richard, Duke of Gloucester, holds no love for her or her family. The Duke of Buckingham and Lord Stanley enter, bringing word that the king wishes to make peace between Richard and Elizabeth’s faction. Richard himself then enters, and immediately launches into a tirade, feigning grievance and complaining that he is slandered and maligned at court. He accuses Elizabeth and her allies of turning the king against him, portraying himself as a victim despite his own scheming and manipulations. Queen Margaret, the widow of the deposed King Henry VI, then enters unnoticed and begins to shadow the conversation, interjecting bitter curses and commentary from the side.

Margaret eventually steps forward and openly confronts the gathered nobles, unleashing a torrent of curses and accusations against them all. She reminds them of the crimes and betrayals of the Yorkist faction, and reserves her most venomous words for Richard, whom she calls a poisonous hunchback and a devil. She curses Elizabeth, wishing upon her the same grief and loss that she herself has suffered, and directs individual curses at Rivers, Hastings, and Buckingham as well. Richard skillfully deflects her outburst and turns the court’s sympathy away from her. After Margaret exits, Richard privately arranges with two murderers to carry out the killing of his brother George, the Duke of Clarence, who has been imprisoned in the Tower, setting in motion the next stage of his ruthless climb toward the throne.

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.