Chapter 24
Act V, Scene 4: A Horse, My Kingdom for a Horse
Rich. A Horse, a Horse, my Kingdome for a Horse
Cates. Withdraw my Lord, Ile helpe you to a Horse
Rich. Slaue, I haue set my life vpon a cast,
And I will stand the hazard of the Dye:
I thinke there be sixe Richmonds in the field,
Fiue haue I slain to day, in stead of him.
A Horse, a Horse, my Kingdome for a Horse.
Alarum, Enter Richard and Richmond, they fight, Richard is
slaine.
Retreat, and Flourish. Enter Richmond, Derby bearing the Crowne,
with
diuers other Lords.
Critical Thinking Exercise
The Cast Gamble Analysis
Richard trades a kingdom for a horse, refuses rescue, fights, and dies while the crown passes. Think of a time when someone rejected the last exit and gambled everything at the end.
Consider:
- •How does kingdom for a horse differ from cast of the die?
- •Why refuse Catesby's horse after asking for one?
- •What does crown in motion mean before the speech?
- •When does repeated desperation show position, not rhetoric?
Journaling Prompt
Write about a cast gamble you witnessed. Was rescue offered? What moved first, the title or the announcement?
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