How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #4
QUEEN MARGARET
Am I a queen in title and in style,
And must be made a subject to a duke? (1.3.50-51)
Even though Margaret's already queen, she wants more. She hates that Gloucester still has power over her hubby. What Margaret seems to want is to have total control over the kingdom herself. She certainly doesn't want to play second fiddle to some old duke. It doesn't matter how high she goes, she always wants more and more power.
Quote #5
YORK
We thank you, lords. They rise. But I am not your
king
Till I be crowned, and that my sword be stained
With heart-blood of the house of Lancaster;
And that's not suddenly to be performed,
But with advice and silent secrecy.
Do you as I do in these dangerous days:
Wink at the Duke of Suffolk's insolence,
At Beaufort's pride, at Somerset's ambition,
At Buckingham, and all the crew of them, (2.2.68-77)
York lets Warwick and Salisbury in on a little secret: his claim to the throne. He's happy to criticize the king's men for their ambitions, but is he cut from the same cloth as they are? They're after power, and so is he, after all. Somehow, York differentiates himself from the crowd by creating an argument about why he deserves to be king. The question is: do we buy it?
Quote #6
GLOUCESTER
My staff?—Here, noble Henry, is my staff.
He puts down his staff before Henry.
As willingly do I the same resign
As e'er thy father Henry made it mine;
And even as willingly at thy feet I leave it
As others would ambitiously receive it.
Farewell, good king. When I am dead and gone,
May honorable peace attend thy throne. (2.3.34-40)
Gloucester lays down his staff—the symbol of his office—at the request of Margaret and Henry. It's a poignant moment, but his mind turns to ambition—others' ambition, that is. Gloucester doesn't have a problem with letting go, but he knows that others want to take the power for themselves. Gloucester's gesture here means he's one of the only characters who is willing to give up power (and not fight for more).