ACT 5
Richard III Act 5, Scene 4: Retold in Modern English Verse
"A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!"
In the thick of the battle Catesby calls for rescue: the King’s horse is dead and he is fighting on foot, hunting for Richmond. Richard enters crying for a horse, refuses to withdraw, and goes back into the fight – he has already killed five men dressed as Richmond, and means to find the sixth.
Characters appearing: Norfolk | Catesby | King Richard III
Key themes: Fate vs Free Will | Appearance vs Reality | Power and Ambition
ANOTHER PART OF BOSWORTH FIELD.
[ALARUM. EXCURSIONS. ENTER NORFOLK AND FORCES FIGHTING; TO HIM CATESBY.]
SIR WILLIAM CATESBY
Rescue, my Lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue!
Help him, my Lord of Norfolk, help him, help him!
The King enacts more wonders than a man,
The King has fought more than humanly possible,
Daring an opposite to every danger.
By challenging each foe despite the danger.
His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,
His horse is dead, yet now he fights on foot,
Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death.
In search of Richmond though he’s close to death.
Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!
Help him, my lord, or else the battle’s lost!
[ALARUMS. ENTER KING RICHARD.]
KING RICHARD III
A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!
A horse! I’d give my kingdom for a horse!
SIR WILLIAM CATESBY
Withdraw, my lord, I’ll help you to a horse.
Pull back, my lord, I’ll help you get a horse.
KING RICHARD III
Slave, I have set my life upon a cast,
I’ve risked my life on one throw of the dice,
And I will stand the hazard of the die.
And I will stand by what the dice reveal;
I think there be six Richmonds in the field;
It seems this battle has six Earls of Richmond;
Five have I slain today in stead of him.
I’ve slaughtered five, but not the one I want.
A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!
A horse! I’d give my kingdom for a horse!
[EXEUNT.]
