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Summary
In the streets of London, two gentlemen discuss Buckingham’s fate. The First Gentleman tells the Second Gentleman that Buckingham’s trial is over. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and spoke eloquently in his own defense, but the court pronounced him guilty and sentenced him to death. The gentlemen agree that Cardinal Wolsey is behind Buckingham’s fall, and they note that he’s been busy sending any lords favored by the king to distant parts of the kingdom or else to jail.
Buckingham then enters, guarded by soldiers and accompanied by Lovell, Sands, Vaux, and a crowd of commoners. The two gentlemen stand aside to hear what he says. Buckingham addresses the people, saying he has been condemned by a traitor’s judgment, but he bears the law no ill will. He forgives those who have done him wrong and asks those who have loved him to weep for his death, then forget him. Vaux, who will accompany Buckingham to his execution, offers to have the river barge that will transport them outfitted lavishly, but Buckingham says no. He came to the court with a high position and now leaves it as a poor man stripped of his title. Buckingham speaks of his father, who was loyal to Richard III and then killed by that same king. King Henry VIII’s father, who came to the throne after deposing Richard III, pitied Buckingham and restored his title and nobility, but now that king’s son has taken it all back. Buckingham repeats his father’s fall—though at least Buckingham the younger had a trial. Before he is led away, Buckingham counsels the audience to be careful with their loyalty and love.
The gentlemen agree that the turn of events for Buckingham is very sad. But they have heard talk of another person in danger of similarly pernicious scheming. That is, they have heard that the king wishes to separate from Queen Katherine. They suspect Wolsey has urged the king to this path, perhaps wanting the king to marry someone else. Cardinal Campeius has arrived from Rome to discuss the matter, proving the rumor true. The gentlemen speculate that Wolsey has engineered this to cause a break between England and Spain, Katherine’s homeland. Specifically, Wolsey wants to get back at the king of Spain—and Holy Roman Emperor—for not installing him as the archbishop of Toledo.
Analysis
Act 2 opens with Buckingham’s downfall. Even though commoners and nobles alike seem to hold him in great esteem, the court, driven no doubt by Cardinal Wolsey, has sentenced him to death. He is thus the first major character in the play to be taken off the proverbial playing board. Like many of Shakespeare’s characters, Buckingham learns from his unfortunate fate. Across several eloquent speeches, he urges the crowd to learn what he has: namely, that even when you are loyal to your friends, sometimes they turn against you without provocation. He now understands this bitter truth, which allows him to forgive the court of law while reserving his anger for his wrongful accusers. Yet it’s notable that he stops short of naming names. Perhaps he understands that his previous criticism of Wolsey led to his present circumstances. Thus, he holds his tongue, preferring to focus his energy on the rituals of acceptance and forgiveness that traditionally precede execution.
Regardless of his reluctance to call Wolsey out specifically, it’s significant that Buckingham’s speech highlights the theme of betrayal and cautions his audience to be careful in matters of love and loyalty. For Buckingham, this is a lesson that he’s learned not just from his own life, but also from that of his father. He recognizes the terrible irony of his fate, which, like his father’s, comes not through disloyalty but rather through too much loyalty to men who turned on them. These questions of love, loyalty, and betrayal will remain crucial as Wolsey’s next scheme begins to play out. We already get a hint of this plan as the opening scene concludes. The two gentlemen resume their conversation and discuss an even more monumental piece of news: that the king is trying to dissolve his marriage to Katherine. Now that Buckingham has been brought down, she is soon to follow.
