Original: King, be thy thoughts imperious, like thy name.
Modern: King, let your thoughts be commanding and powerful, just like your royal title.

Original: Is the sun dimm’d, that gnats do fly in it?
Modern: Does the sun grow dim just because tiny gnats fly around it?

Original: The eagle suffers little birds to sing,
Modern: The eagle allows little birds to sing,

Original: And is not careful what they mean thereby,
Modern: And doesn’t worry about what they’re trying to say,

Original: Knowing that with the shadow of his wings
Modern: Knowing that with just the shadow of his wings

Original: He can at pleasure stint their melody:
Modern: He can stop their singing whenever he wants to:

Original: Even so mayst thou the giddy men of Rome.
Modern: You can do the same thing to the foolish men of Rome.

Original: Then cheer thy spirit: for know, thou emperor,
Modern: So lift up your spirits: because know this, my emperor,

Original: I will enchant the old Andronicus
Modern: I will cast a spell on old Andronicus

Original: With words more sweet, and yet more dangerous,
Modern: With words that are sweeter, yet more deadly,

Original: Than baits to fish, or honey-stalks to sheep,
Modern: Than bait used to catch fish, or sweet clover given to sheep,

Original: When as the one is wounded with the bait,
Modern: Where the fish gets hurt by taking the bait,

Original: The other rotted with delicious feed.
Modern: And the sheep gets sick from eating too much of the sweet food.

In Act IV, Scene 4 of “Titus Andronicus,” the scene opens in the palace where Saturninus, the Emperor of Rome, receives the arrows that Titus and his family have shot into the court, each bearing messages to the gods seeking justice. The Emperor is enraged by what he perceives as Titus’s madness and insults, interpreting the old general’s actions as mockery of his authority. Tamora, the Empress and former Queen of the Goths, attempts to calm Saturninus by suggesting that Titus has gone mad with grief and should be humored rather than punished. She argues that they should pretend to sympathize with him, which will allow them to lure him and his remaining family into a trap where they can destroy them completely.

A messenger arrives with news that a Goth army is marching toward Rome, led by Titus’s son Lucius, who has been banished and has now allied himself with Rome’s enemies. This news greatly alarming the Emperor, as the common people are reportedly joining Lucius’s cause, sympathetic to the wrongs done to the Andronicus family. Tamora reassures Saturninus that she will handle the situation by going to Titus herself, disguised, and using his supposed madness against him to discover his plans and bring about his destruction. She convinces the Emperor to remain in the palace while she executes her scheme, promising to deliver Titus and his supporters into his hands for punishment.

Titus Andronicus opens with the Roman general Titus returning victorious from war against the Goths, bringing with him prisoners including Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and her three sons. Despite Tamora’s pleas, Titus sacrifices her eldest son Alarbus in revenge for his own sons killed in battle. The Emperor Saturninus chooses Tamora as his bride, and she secretly plots revenge against Titus. Meanwhile, Titus’s daughter Lavinia is betrothed to Bassianus, the Emperor’s brother, though Saturninus had wanted to marry her himself.

Tamora’s sons Demetrius and Chiron, aided by the villainous Aaron the Moor, murder Bassianus and brutally assault Lavinia, cutting off her hands and tongue to prevent her from identifying them. Aaron tricks two of Titus’s sons, Quintus and Martius, into falling into the pit where Bassianus’s body lies, and they are arrested for his murder. Aaron then deceives Titus into believing that if he cuts off his own hand and sends it to the Emperor, his sons will be spared. Titus complies, but receives back his severed hand along with the heads of his executed sons.

Lavinia manages to reveal her attackers’ identities by writing in the dirt with a stick held in her mouth. Titus feigns madness while plotting revenge and sends weapons with threatening messages to Tamora’s sons. When Tamora gives birth to Aaron’s child, Aaron flees with the baby but is eventually captured. In the final act, Titus kills Tamora’s sons and serves them to her baked in a pie at a banquet. He then kills Lavinia to end her suffering, murders Tamora, and is immediately killed by Saturninus. Titus’s surviving son Lucius kills Saturninus and is proclaimed the new Emperor, ordering Aaron to be buried alive and vowing to restore order to Rome.