How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line). Line numbers correspond to the Norton edition.
Quote #1
GLOUCESTER
Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,
By drunken prophecies, libels, and dreams,
To set my brother Clarence and the king
In deadly hate the one against the other;
And if King Edward be as true and just
As I am subtle, false, and treacherous,
This day should Clarence closely be mew'd up- (1.1.1)
Richard's first mention of his relation to his family prepares us for the way family will function in the play. Richard speaks of deceiving one brother to imprison the other. He even explicitly compares himself to his brother Edward, saying that he is all the evil that Edward is not. Thus we get the hint that family will not be about the ties and the love that bind people. Instead, it's just one more instrument Richard will use to manipulate and spread his hate.
Quote #2
GLOUCESTER
He that bereft thee, lady, of thy husband
Did it to help thee to a better husband.
ANNE
His better doth not breathe upon the earth.
GLOUCESTER
He lives that loves thee better than he could.
ANNE
Name him.
GLOUCESTER
Plantagenet.
ANNE
Why, that was he.
GLOUCESTER
The self-same name, but one of better nature.
ANNE
Where is he?
GLOUCESTER
Here. (1.2.41)
Richard implicitly draws a comparison between himself and Anne's dead husband, the murdered Prince Edward, by pointing out their old family connection. By invoking the Plantagenet name, Richard goes far back to the original family from which the two warring houses, Lancaster and York, sprang. Amidst all the animosity in the play, it's easy to forget that the warring Lancasters and Yorks are actually related by blood (hence the dispute). Remembering the family connection between the Lancasters and Yorks also makes all the quarreling within the York family a bit more understandable. Being family doesn't guarantee allegiance. Fighting within the family is common, hence the Wars of the Roses.
Quote #3
QUEEN MARGARET
What, were you snarling all before I came,
Ready to catch each other by the throat,
And turn you all your hatred now on me?
Did York's dread curse prevail so much with heaven
That Henry's death, my lovely Edward's death,
Their kingdom's loss, my woeful banishment,
Should all but answer for that peevish brat? (1.3.10)
Margaret represents the old guard that the Yorks defeated to come to power. As they turn from their in-fighting to attack her, we get a rare glimpse of family loyalty and unity amongst those related to King Edward.
Quote #4
CLARENCE
If you do love my brother, hate not me;
I am his brother, and I love him well.
If you are hir'd for meed, go back again,
And I will send you to my brother Gloucester,
Who shall reward you better for my life
Than Edward will for tidings of my death.
SECOND MURDERER
You are deceiv'd: your brother Gloucester
hates you.
CLARENCE
O, no, he loves me, and he holds me dear.
Go you to him from me.
FIRST MURDERER
Ay, so we will.
CLARENCE. Tell him when that our princely father York
Bless'd his three sons with his victorious arm
And charg'd us from his soul to love each other,
He little thought of this divided friendship.
Bid Gloucester think of this, and he will weep.
FIRST MURDERER
Ay, millstones; as he lesson'd us to weep.
CLARENCE. O, do not slander him, for he is kind.
FIRST MURDERER
Right, as snow in harvest. Come, you
deceive yourself:
'Tis he that sends us to destroy you here.
CLARENCE
It cannot be; for he bewept my fortune
And hugg'd me in his arms, and swore with sobs
That he would labour my delivery.
FIRST MURDERER
Why, so he doth, when he delivers you
From this earth's thraldom to the joys of heaven. (1.4.20)
Clarence seems to have no inkling of Richard's evil and even goes so far as to defend him. Is it fair to assume that a family bond, especially one emphasized by their father, would be sacred? Is Clarence just being naïve and foolish?
Quote #5
KING EDWARD
Why, so. Now have I done a good day's
work.
You peers, continue this united league.
I every day expect an embassage
From my Redeemer to redeem me hence;
And more at peace my soul shall part to heaven,
Since I have made my friends at peace on earth. (2.1.1)
King Edward believes that trying to forge unity in his family is a fitting final act, even though he basically just demands that everyone be friends as soon as they walk back in. Are the old enmities so weak that Edward can really assume an old fashioned "kiss and make up" session will cut it? Edward, in bringing his family together, seems to contradict his condemnation of Clarence. It seems that reckoning with death has made him realize the pettiness of his position. Are the others acting evil because they haven't reckoned with death and aren't considering the consequences of their actions come judgment day?
Quote #6
KING EDWARD
My brother killed no man-his fault was thought,
And yet his punishment was bitter death.
Who sued to me for him? Who, in my wrath,
Kneel'd at my feet, and bid me be advis'd?
Who spoke of brotherhood? Who spoke of love? (2.1.10)
Edward's pardon of Clarence, had he been able to give it, would have been based on their brotherhood, not on the fact that the original condemnation was unwarranted. This indicates that the Yorks do understand the importance of family ties, if not equal justice under the law. It's also a little unreasonable that Edward condemns the others for having the exact same blindness (or lack of compassion toward Clarence) that he had. He's making others the scapegoats for his own failings.
Quote #7
DUCHESS OF YORK
Ah, so much interest have I in thy sorrow
As I had title in thy noble husband!
I have bewept a worthy husband's death,
And liv'd with looking on his images;
But now two mirrors of his princely semblance
Are crack'd in pieces by malignant death,
And I for comfort have but one false glass,
That grieves me when I see my shame in him.
Thou art a widow, yet thou art a mother
And hast the comfort of thy children left;
But death hath snatch'd my husband from mine arms
And pluck'd two crutches from my feeble hands-
Clarence and Edward. O, what cause have I-
Thine being but a moiety of my moan-
To overgo thy woes and drown thy cries? (2.2.7)
The Duchess seems to be comparing her grief to Queen Elizabeth's, as though one could quantify this sort of thing. The real cause of all of this despair is that the Duchess is watching her family crumble. She doesn't lament the destruction of the kingdom, or even the entire house of York, so much as the loss of her support system.
Quote #8
BUCKINGHAM
My lord, whoever journeys to the Prince,
For God sake, let not us two stay at home;
For by the way I'll sort occasion,
As index to the story we late talk'd of,
To part the queen's proud kindred from the Prince.
GLOUCESTER
My other self, my counsel's consistory,
My oracle, my prophet, my dear cousin,
I, as a child, will go by thy direction.
Toward Ludlow then, for we'll not stay behind. (2.2.3)
As Richard talks about separating his nephews from their uncles by whatever means necessary, he embraces Buckingham as part of his family. Buckingham probably should've taken the hint that being in Richard's family was likely more a curse than an occasion for picnics and road trips.
Quote #9
FIRST CITIZEN
So stood the state when Henry the Sixth
Was crown'd in Paris but at nine months old.
THIRD CITIZEN
Stood the state so? No, no, good friends,
God wot;
For then this land was famously enrich'd
With politic grave counsel; then the king
Had virtuous uncles to protect his Grace.
FIRST CITIZEN
Why, so hath this, both by his father and
mother.
THIRD CITIZEN
Better it were they all came by his father,
Or by his father there were none at all;
For emulation who shall now be nearest
Will touch us all too near, if God prevent not.
O, full of danger is the Duke of Gloucester!
And the queen's sons and brothers haught and proud;
And were they to be rul'd, and not to rule,
This sickly land might solace as before. (2.3.5)
The citizens provide some perspective here. They're aware of the family drama, with Prince Edward's uncles being on opposite sides, but they remind the reader that the drama of the play is not just within the family. The internal saga of the York family is actually a national political drama. Still, despite these brief glimpses of the outside world, the play mostly revolves around the Yorks, blurring the line between political history and family drama.
Quote #10
PRINCE
No, uncle; but our crosses on the way
Have made it tedious, wearisome, and heavy.
I want more uncles here to welcome me.
GLOUCESTER
Sweet Prince, the untainted virtue of your years
Hath not yet div'd into the world's deceit;
Nor more can you distinguish of a man
Than of his outward show; which, God He knows,
Seldom or never jumpeth with the heart.
Those uncles which you want were dangerous;
Your Grace attended to their sug'red words
But look'd not on the poison of their hearts.
God keep you from them and from such false friends!
PRINCE
God keep me from false friends! but they were
none.
GLOUCESTER
My lord, the Mayor of London comes to greet
you. (3.1.1)
Richard is making a clear grab at the prince's affections here. He appeals to young Prince Edward not as a loving uncle, but as one wise enough to protect him. Richard argues to the boy (by talking about his false uncles) that just because people are family doesn't mean they can be trusted. (Richard would know something about this, wouldn't he?) Ironically, it seems that Richard's suggestion that the prince's other uncles are false may be the very thing that clues Prince Edward in to Richard's treachery.