York (Richard II)

Play

Richard II

Summary

Edmund, Duke of York, is Richard II's other uncle, left in charge of England when Richard goes to Ireland. He is a moderate, decent, and ultimately weak man caught between loyalty to his anointed king and the overwhelming tide of Bolingbroke's return. He ends by submitting to Bolingbroke and even informing on his own son Aumerle's plot against the new king — a portrait of the political accommodator under pressure.

Notable Quotations

"Both are my kinsmen: / T'one is my sovereign, whom both my oath / And duty bids defend; t'other again / Is my kinsman, whom the king hath wrong'd, / Whom conscience and my kindred bids to right." *(2.2)*

"I do remain as neuter. So fare you well; / Unless you please to enter in the castle / And there repose you for this night." *(2.3)*

Cross-references

• Richard II — the play
• Richard II — his nephew the king
• Bolingbroke — his nephew the usurper
• John of Gaunt — his brother
• Histories