Original artwork, not a still
Off with his head!
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Four words, no trial, and the point is how casual they sound: Richard has been all charm and humility until the moment he needs a rival dead. The line became shorthand for any tyrant's snap verdict, and the Cibber mash-up 'so much for Buckingham' shows how a stage tradition can outdo the original text, making this one of the best-known lines Shakespeare did not quite write.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Richard IIIShow the scene
In Shakespeare's Richard III, Act 3, Scene 4, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, has been presenting himself as a modest and devout protector while he arranges the crown for himself. At a council meeting he turns on Lord Hastings, Edward IV's Lord Chamberlain, who objects to Richard taking the throne. Richard orders Hastings's head cut off on a charge of treason. The sentence is Richard's, and Hastings is executed. The better-known stage version, 'Off with his head; so much for Buckingham', is not Shakespeare's: Colley Cibber added it in his hugely successful 1700 adaptation.
Sources (2)
- Richard III (play) on WikiquoteAct III, Scene ivReference checked
- Richard III (play) (Wikipedia)Synopsis and Performance historyReference checked
Context reviewed
