Original: Bear with me; I am hungry for revenge,
Modern: Be patient with me; I’m starving for revenge,

Original: And now I cloy me with beholding it.
Modern: And now I’m satisfying myself by watching it happen.

Original: Thy Edward he is dead, that stabb’d my Edward:
Modern: Your son Edward is dead, the one who killed my Edward:

Original: Thy other Edward dead, to quit my Edward;
Modern: Your other Edward is also dead, to pay for my Edward’s death;

Original: Young York he is but boot, because both they
Modern: Young York’s death is just a bonus, because both of them together

Original: Match not the high perfection of my loss:
Modern: Still don’t equal the terrible greatness of what I lost:

Original: Thy Clarence he is dead that kill’d my Edward;
Modern: Your Clarence is dead too, the one who killed my Edward;

Original: And the beholders of this tragic play,
Modern: And the witnesses to this tragic drama,

Original: The adulterate Hastings, Rivers, Vaughan, Grey,
Modern: The corrupt Hastings, Rivers, Vaughan, and Grey,

Original: Untimely smother’d in their dusky graves.
Modern: All killed before their time and buried in their dark graves.

Original: Richard yet lives, hell’s black intelligencer,
Modern: Richard still lives, hell’s dark spy,

Original: Only reserved their factor, to buy souls
Modern: Only kept alive as hell’s agent, to purchase souls

Original: And send them thither: but at hand, at hand,
Modern: And send them there: but soon, very soon,

Original: Ensues his piteous and unpitied end:
Modern: His pathetic and merciless end will come:

Original: Earth gapes, hell burns, fiends roar, saints pray.
Modern: The earth opens up, hell burns, demons roar, and saints pray.

Original: To have him suddenly convey’d away.
Modern: To have him suddenly taken away.

Original: Cancel his bond of life, dear God, I prey,
Modern: End his life, dear God, I pray,

Original: That I may live to say, The dog is dead!
Modern: So that I may live to say, “That dog is dead!”

In Act IV, Scene 4 of Richard III, Queen Margaret encounters Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of York as they mourn outside the Tower of London. The three women, all having suffered losses due to Richard’s ruthless pursuit of power, engage in a ritualistic lamentation where they catalog their griefs and curse Richard. Margaret, the former queen and widow of Henry VI, initially gloats over Elizabeth’s downfall but then joins with her and the Duchess in shared mourning. The Duchess, Richard’s own mother, expresses particular anguish at having given birth to such a monster, while Elizabeth grieves for her murdered sons, the young princes.

The scene continues as Richard himself arrives with his retinue, prompting Margaret to hide and observe. Richard attempts to reconcile with his mother and Elizabeth, seeking the Duchess’s blessing and Elizabeth’s consent to marry her daughter, also named Elizabeth. Both women initially resist his entreaties with bitter reproaches, but Richard persists in his manipulative rhetoric. The Duchess ultimately refuses to bless her son and departs, while Richard continues to press Elizabeth for her daughter’s hand in marriage, employing the same persuasive tactics he once used to woo Elizabeth herself when she was Lady Anne. The scene concludes with Richard’s apparent success in wearing down Elizabeth’s resistance, though her final acquiescence remains ambiguous.

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.