A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse - What on Earth did it mean?

Question

Anyone know much about Shakespeare - Richard III.

I never did this at school and I always wondered what it meant..... I think I know, but it doesn't quite make sense. Surely, he wouldn't give good old Blighty away - for a horse, would he?

Answer 1

The King, was bemoaning the fact that his kingdom, was going to be lost, for the sake of his not having a horse on which to mount, to rally his troops from, as his troops were of the opinion that their leader, (who they could no longer see, mounted, and with them ), was likely to have been killed, and as a result, they felt that "the day was lost" ( i.e. the battle was "carried" (won), by the enemy ), and were turning to the thoughts of leaving the battlefield....it is a cry of anguish , at the "fates", ( forces of chance ), who seemed to be the ruling "force", of the days battle...

Not an offer, to "give the kingdom away" for the sake of a horse !

Answer 2

It's a cry of desperation.

Answer 3

In the play, Richard III was knocked from his horse during the battle of Bosworth, leaving him at a disadvantage. Henry, Earl of Richmond, kills him, taking his crown and becoming King Henry VII.



The play makes Richard look foolish and somewhat glorifies Henry VII (and through him, the Tudor dynasty), being Queen Elizabeth's paternal grandfather.

Answer 4

Basil you should not concern your self with such matters... Cad will explain to you my brain damaged chum... He wanted a .... wait for it.... a horse!

Answer 5

He wasn't offering a swap!

He meant that he was about to lose his kingdom for lack of a horse.

Answer 6

I think he was stuck up a tree or somewhere and the baddies were after him and he couldn't get away so rather than be killed he offered to swap his Kingdom for a horse to escape.

Answer 7

...and there's me thinking it was something to do with his sexual preferences.

Answer 8

During the final Battle. Richard III 's horse, Surrey, is killed.  Unable to flee and unable to gather more troops, he falls to the Earl Of Richmond who slays him, becoming King.  This act, often quoted from Shakespeare, is from actual facts.  

So basically in answer to your question, he died and his kingdom went to the conquerer because his horse was killed and he could not flee.  It is a manner of  summing up the frustration every human feels when he or she lacks the service of something once taken for granted. A person might quote this line on a frigid January day when his car will not start.

Richmond, btw becomes Henry VII, and ended the War of the Roses.

Answer 9

I think, as is often the case w/ shakespeare, there was a bit of wordplay and dual meaning going on--he is in need of a horse, and "my kingdom for a horse!" playfully means both "I'd trade my kingdom for a horse!" and "i'm going to lose my kingdom if i can't obtain a horse!"