Act 2 scene 1
Gaunt's long speech is usually misinterpreted to say how great England is, but by the end of the speech Gaunt is acknowledging that England has fallen into disrepute and he blames Richard for the decline of England's reputation. Gaunt believes that since he knows he is dying and should therefore save his breath, if he does choose to say something, that others will pay more attention to his pronouncements.
Shakespeare's characters who can play with words are usually seen as stronger, and here Gaunt can use even his name to chastise Richard for causing him to age from his grief and to suggest that he has had to do the things Richard should have done in caring for the country.
In Act 1, Gaunt would never have been so honest with Richard. He claims that Richard is responsible for the sickness in his land. In this speech Gaunt accuses Richard of being sick in reputation, of bowing to flatterers (the physicians who first wounded him); he chastises Richard in the name of Edward III for killing off his heirs. In Gaunt's next speech he actually accuses Richard of killing Gloucester and Richard does not deny it.
York finally speaks up against Richard. He recounts for us all the wrong moves Richard has made to which York did not rebuke him at the time.
Like Gaunt, York was loathe to rebuke the King, but here he uses the argument that Richard should not disinherit Bolingbroke of Gaun's estate (Lancaster) because he (Richard) is only king based on the law of primogeniture, by which the son inherits the title from the father.
Before Bolingbroke has even heard the news of his father's death and his disenfranchisement, Northumberland, Ross, and Willoughby, in fear that if the inheritance of the next in line to the King is not secure, none of them can count on having their own sons inherit, are banded together to support him as he returns to England, ignoring his banishment. They go to Ravenspurgh to meet with Bolingbroke, who only waits until Richard departs for Ireland to land on English soil. There are several reasons Bolingbroke could legitimately be coming back to England on the death of his father. First, as he assumes a new title--Duke of Lancaster--he would have to swear allegiance to Richard. Since Richard has disinherited him, he could be coming back to try the matter in court. Or, since, he seems to have planned to return even before hearing of his father's death or Richard's confiscation of his goods, knowing of Richard's plan to be out of the country, and keeping in mind Richard's perception of Bolingbroke as one who courted the favor of the common people, he may have come back to challenge Richard. But Richard's actions, as York predicted, have turned many nobles away from Richard and eager to support Bolingbroke in his stated quest of the recognition of his right to the title of Lancaster.