Epigraph as poem
The entire poem is the Shakespeare quote repeated twice. Lowell isn't adding her own words—the repetition itself is the poem.
The promised reward
Buckingham helped Richard seize the throne and now wants payment. Richard will dodge this request, then have him executed in Act 4.
'Jack' explained
A 'jack' is the mechanical figure that strikes the bell on a clock. Richard's insult: Buckingham is just a mindless mechanism interrupting him.
Reading Notes
The Trick of Repetition
Lowell's poem is Richard III, Act 4, Scene 2 copied twice. No original language. The first time through, you're reading Shakespeare. The second time, you're reading Lowell reading Shakespeare—and that changes everything.
The scene shows Richard evading Buckingham's request for the earldom he was promised. Richard obsesses over the time ("what's o'clock?") to avoid the topic, then compares Buckingham to a jack—the mechanical figure that strikes a clock bell. It's a double insult: Buckingham is both mindless machinery and an annoying interruption.
CONTEXT Lowell published this in 1925, during her Imagist period's aftermath. Imagists believed in stripping poetry down to essentials, making every word count. Here she strips away all her own words. The repetition forces you to read differently the second time—you notice Richard's evasions, the power play, the way he weaponizes small talk. The poem is about rereading itself.
The title becomes ironic on the second pass. "What's O'Clock" seems like Richard's question, but it's really Lowell's: What is time doing in this exchange? Richard uses clock-talk as a weapon. Buckingham will be dead within two acts. Time is running out, and only Richard knows it.