How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #1
BUCKINGHAM
This butcher's cur is venom-mouthed, and I
Have not the power to muzzle him; therefore best
Not wake him in his slumber. A beggar's book
Outworths a noble's blood. (1.1.143-146)
Right away we can see that Buckingham and Wolsey won't be friending each other on Facebook anytime soon. It's clear that Buckingham thinks very little of Wolsey. What's also intriguing is the way he expresses that: by drawing attention to class. He calls Wolsey lower than a beggar as an insult, yes, but it's also a way of cluing us in to the social order in the play.
Quote #2
VAUX, calling as to Officers offstage
Prepare there!
The duke is coming. See the barge be ready,
And fit it with such furniture as suits
The greatness of his person. (2.1.116-119)
Even in death, the class system should be preserved: Vaux thinks there should be a sense of duty about the way they take Buckingham to be executed. This shows just how ingrained the social order is. Yet, Buckingham does still die, even if he is a noble.
Quote #3
BUCKINGHAM
Let it alone. My state now will but mock me.
When I came hither, I was Lord High Constable
And Duke of Buckingham; now, poor Edward Bohun.
Yet I am richer than my base accusers... (2.1.121-124)
When Vaux suggests preparing a barge fit for his high-class status, Buckingham rejects the idea flat out. He doesn't care about his social class anymore, because he is about to die. Makes sense, right? We'd like to point out the way he thinks that he has been stripped of his title, as if it he's now a totally different person without it.