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What is York’s claim to the throne?
York’s claim to the throne is essentially a matter of genealogical priority. The rules of succession dictate that the first in line for the Crown are the king’s eldest son and his sons, followed by the king’s second son and his sons, then the third, and so on. As York explains in detail to Salisbury and Warwick in act 2, scene 2, the only reason Henry is king is that his grandfather, Henry Bolingbroke, wrongly usurped the throne from Richard II. Bolingbroke was the son of John of Gaunt, who was Edward III’s fourth son. York, by contrast, descends from Edward’s third son, which gives him genealogical priority.
Why do Winchester and his co-conspirators have Gloucester murdered before his trial?
Winchester, along with Suffolk and Queen Margaret, are eager to remove Gloucester from the proverbial game board. They see him as a hanger-on who retains the power and influence of the Lord Protector even after the king has reached an age that allows him to rule without supervision. They all want him out of the way so they can gain more influence over the king. However, the real problem stems less from Gloucester himself, and more from Henry, who has a strong sentimental attachment to his uncle. They fear that the king will try to pardon Gloucester no matter what evidence they bring against him. Therefore, they have him killed before his trial to prevent Henry’s interference.
How does Winchester die?
The Cardinal of Winchester suddenly takes ill in the immediate aftermath of Gloucester’s murder, suggesting that he is overcome with fear and possibly guilt. When Salisbury and Warwick announce that the common people believe that Winchester and Suffolk were both involved in Gloucester’s death, the announcement likely frightens the cardinal. But his fear spikes rapidly once Warwick examines the body and concludes that Gloucester was murdered. As the suspicion turns to Suffolk, Winchester silently exits the scene, supported by Somerset. In the next scene, we find him raving on his deathbed, haunted by a vision of Gloucester. When he dies without receiving absolution, Warwick declares, “So bad a death argues a monstrous life” (3.3.30). Symbolically, then, Winchester appears to die of his own guilt.
How does Suffolk die?
As prophesied by the spirit Asnath, Suffolk dies by water. However, as is typical of such prophecies, the nature of the water that kills Suffolk is somewhat surprising. After the king banishes him for his involvement in Gloucester’s murder, Suffolk boards a ship for France. This ship gets captured by pirates who abduct members of the nobility to extort ransom money. Suffolk refuses to beg for his life, much less pay a ransom, and the pirates decide to execute him. The man appointed to perform the execution is named Walter Whitmore, whose first name would have been pronounced almost the same as the word water. Thus, though he dies at sea, Suffolk doesn’t drown. Rather, he’s killed by a man named Walter.
Why does Jack Cade incite a popular rebellion?
In the fourth act of the play, a wily rebel named Jack Cade incites a popular rebellion that galvanizes crowds of malcontent commoners. Cade doesn’t do this simply for the thrill of it. Though at times he certainly seems to be enjoying himself, he is doing a job that York has hired him to perform. When York leaves for Ireland to put down an uprising taking place there, he decides to conduct an experiment to see how receptive the commoners of England might be to a Yorkist claim to the throne. Thus, he hires Cade to assume the identity of his recently deceased uncle Mortimer and make a public declaration of his pursuit of the Crown. It isn’t clear how far York meant for Cade to take his claim, or whether he intended him to mount a full-on rebellion. Regardless, Cade’s mission is a success, and though he ends up dying, the chaos he helps stir up has the desired effect: it enables York to return with an army, ready to stake his own claim to the throne.
