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A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse! Those are the last words of Richard as he dies on the battlefield. He has lost his horse, which was a vital component of a fighter’s equipment in medieval times. Leading up to that he rushes about the battlefield killing everyone he meets, shouting, “A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!”.
My kingdom for a horse!’. This latter quotation is instantly recognisable to people who have never read or studied the play or even seen it performed. What most people aren’t aware of is that Richard actually utters the line twice. The battle is lost, and the king has lost his horse, as Catesby tells us:
- Origin of My Kingdom For A Horse
- Meaning of My Kingdom For A Horse
- Usage of My Kingdom For A Horse
- Literary Source of My Kingdom For A Horse
- Literary Analysis of My Kingdom For A Horse
- Literary Devices
This famous phrase originally occurred in Act-V, Scene-IV of William Shakespeare’s play, Richard III. Here, King Richard III yells out loudly this famous phrase, “A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!” In the middle of a battle, his horse is killed, while the king wanders to find it in the battlefield for hours, killing everything coming his wa...
The phrase is repeated ironically, when someone needs some insignificant item. Shakespeare shows that the value and importance of things may change suddenly; and simple and unimportant things, like a horse in the battle, could become more important than a whole kingdom. The sense in this line is ironic, as someone wants something insignificant to c...
Although this phrase was set in a different age, several famous quotes like this coined by Shakespeare are relevant to this day as well. Thus, we see many people continue to quote this phrase today, relating it to their lives when their life or business is compromised by trivial issues. Its usage is common in politics, the business community, and e...
William Shakespeare has used this phrase in Act-V, Scene-IV of his play, Richard III, where it is uttered by King Richard, Duke of Gloucester: (Richard III, Act-V, Scene-IV, Lines 7-13) In this scene, Richard goes to the battleground in a crazy and desperate mood. Mad with bloodlust, the king says he has killed five Richmonds and one is left. But a...
Arrogant and pathetic, a hunchbacked villainous king, Richard III is going to meet his fate at the hands of the future king, Henry VII. King’s Richard’s most memorable line actually sounds halfway valiant, as he refuses to leave the battle, though his horse has fallen. However, this line has become an irrelevant remark to some of Shakespeare’s cont...
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Why is 'a horse my Kingdom for a horse' so famous?
It is notable for two reasons. Firstly, ‘a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse’ is a good example of iambic pentameter. Shakespeare used iambic pentameter frequently and this is often quoted as a classic example. An iamb is a poetic form which is made up of two syllables, the first unstressed and the second stressed. This sounds like ...
Aug 24, 2021 · “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!” Richard III, Act 5, scene 4, line 13. A titanic villain in Shakespeare’s history plays, Richard III departs the stage and this life with these words, fighting to his death on foot after losing his horse in battle. In that moment, the Wars of the Roses near their end.
Shakespeare uses “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!” in order to show King Richard’s desperation in his final battle against Richmond. They are Richard’s last words spoken in the play before he dies at Richmond’s hands. His horse is a vital part of one’s equipment when fighting on the battlefield.
My kingdom for a horse! Richard begins act 5, scene 4 by exclaiming "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!" after being knocked from his steed during the climactic battle. The phrase illustrates the drama and desperation of his sudden fall from grace and has entered common parlance as such.
