Hastings (Richard III)

Play

Richard III

Summary

Lord Hastings is one of the most powerful Yorkist lords, loyal to the young princes and resistant to Richard's ambitions for the throne. His fatal error is complacency — dismissing warnings and trusting to his own position — so that when Richard suddenly accuses him of sorcery in a council meeting and orders his immediate execution, he has no defence prepared. His death is emblematic of how Richard destroys those who refuse to bend.

Notable Quotations

"I tell thee, man, 'tis better with me now / Than when thou met'st me last where now we meet: / Then was I going prisoner to the Tower / By the suggestion of the queen's allies; / But now, I tell thee — keep it to thyself — / This day those enemies are put to death." *(3.2)*

"Woe, woe for England! not a whit for me; / For I, too fond, might have prevented this." *(3.4)*

Cross-references

• Richard III — the play
• Richard III — the man who executes him
• Queen Elizabeth (Richard III) — the queen whose allies he distrusts
• Histories