Shakespeare's Richard III 5.4 - My Kingdom for a Horse!

Richard III

Please see the bottom of this page for full explanatory notes.

ACT V SCENE IV	Another part of the field.
[ Alarum: excursions. Enter NORFOLK and forces fighting; to him CATESBY ]
CATESBY	Rescue, my Lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue!
	The king enacts more wonders than a man,
	Daring an opposite to every danger:
	His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,
	Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death.
	Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!
Alarum. Enter KING RICHARD III
KING RICHARD III	A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!
CATESBY	Withdraw, my lord; I'll help you to a horse.
KING RICHARD III	Slave, I have set my life upon a cast,
	And I will stand the hazard of the die:	10
	I think there be six Richmonds in the field;
	Five have I slain to-day, instead of him.
	A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!
[ [Exeunt.

Richard III, Act 5, Scene 5

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Explanatory Notes for Act 5, Scene 4
From King Richard III. Ed. Brainerd Kellogg. New York: Clark & Maynard.

Abbreviations. — A.-S. = Anglo-Saxon: M.E. = Middle English (from the 13th to the 15th century) ; Fr. = French ; Ger. = German ; Gr. = Greek ; Cf. = compare (Lat. confer) ; Abbott refers to the excellent Shakespearean Grammar of Dr. Abbott; Schmidt, to Dr. Schmidt's invaluable Shakespeare Lexicon.

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7. Wright notes that in the old play of The True Tragedy of King Richard the Third almost the only line having anything in common with Shakespeare is Richard's exclamation, "A horse, a horse, a fresh horse."

9. Cast, a throw of the dice.

10. Hazard, the thing risked.

11. Be is often used for are when some notion of doubt is involved, as in questions, and after verbs of thinking.

How to cite the explanatory notes:
Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Ed. Brainerd Kellogg. New York: Clark & Maynard, 1886. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2014. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/richardiii_5_4.html >.

How to cite the sidebar:
Mabillard, Amanda. Notes on Shakespeare. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2014. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/richardiii_5_4.html >.

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More to Explore

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Preface to The First Folio

Classification of Shakespeare's Work

Shakespeare Q & A

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Shakespeare on Old Age

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