How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #7
GUIDERIUS
I am sorry for 't, not seeming
So worthy as thy birth. (4.2.123-124)
Without even realizing it, Guiderius hits a nerve with Cloten: he's said that Cloten is unworthy of being called a prince. In typical fashion, Cloten can't let this go—in fact, it's what gets him killed. If only he hadn't cared so much about his social status.
Quote #8
BELARIUS
Though mean and mighty,
Rotting together, have one dust, yet reverence,
That angel of the world, doth make distinction
Of place 'tween high and low. Our foe was princely,
And though you took his life, as being our foe,
Yet bury him as a prince. (4.2.313-318)
Belarius offers us the typical view in Shakespeare's day: social class matters, big time. He thinks that even though Cloten was their enemy, he still deserves to have a burial according to his class: he was a prince, so he should be buried like one. Do you think Belarius's views have anything to do with the fact that he used to be a high-class man himself?
Quote #9
GUIDERIUS
Thersites' body is as good as Ajax'
When neither are alive. (4.2.321-322)
Everyone is equal—when dead. Guiderius doesn't care that Cloten was a prince or anyone special. It doesn't matter, he says: we all go back into the ground, one way or another. His comparison between a lowlife soldier (Thersites) and a hero (Ajax) in the Trojan war shows that death doesn't distinguish between beggar and king.