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    King John
    King John
    King John
    Ebook177 pages1 hour

    King John

    By William Shakespeare

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Amid a backdrop of war, conspiracy, and murder, this historical play depicts the troubled reign of King John, who ruled England from 1199 to 1216. Shakespeare's most enigmatic king struggles with the shifting loyalties of his nobles as well as threats from his covetous heirs and the burdens of his own conscience. The play, which abounds in battles and betrayals, explores issues of politics, inheritance, and legitimacy.
    John's problems are threefold: he has usurped the throne from the rightful heir, his nephew Arthur; his relationship with the Vatican is troubled; and he is highly unpopular with his own subjects. Shakespeare's portrayal of the despised monarch finds a more heroic figure in Sir Richard Plantagenet, an illegitimate son of Richard I. The Bastard, as John's loyal nephew is known, forms the moral center of the play as well as a source of irreverent humor and honesty. A cynical play about power struggles, King John offers a remarkably contemporary mix of history and ironic commentary, balanced in equal measures by elements of tragedy and satire.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateJan 28, 2015
    ISBN9780486790077
    Author

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare is the world's greatest ever playwright. Born in 1564, he split his time between Stratford-upon-Avon and London, where he worked as a playwright, poet and actor. In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare died in 1616 at the age of fifty-two, leaving three children—Susanna, Hamnet and Judith. The rest is silence.

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    Reviews for King John

    3.5/5

    11 ratings10 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Having finished the last of a trilogy of novels about Eleanor of Aquitaine last night, I was prompted to read this, one of Shakespeare's less well known and now rarely performed plays. It prevents a telescoped version of the events early in John's reign in 1202-3, where he fought, triumphed over and probably murdered his nephew Arthur of Brittany, who had an arguably superior claim to the throne of England, being the son of one of John's older brothers, Geoffrey. It also presents a fictitious version of John's death and succession by his son, Prince Henry, who was not in reality born until a few years after Arthur's death. (Magna Carta does not exist in this fictionalised version of events). The events are dramatic, but it mostly lacks the memorable and pithy dialogue and quotations of many of the plays, and is one of only two Shakespeare plays written entirely in (mostly blank) verse.
    • 4/5
      WS sees John as a lesser man coming to the throne in the wake of the Glorious Richard Lionheart. He's not that good, and drags the country down, gets it interdicted by the Papacy and invaded by the French. He's also the murderer of his older brother's son, a child with a good claim to the throne. WS creates., a point of view character "Bastard Fauconbridge" who represents the playwright's vision of what the English thought of John. there's no mention of the Magna Carta, because in Elizabeth I's England, it wasn't thought of as an important document. I've recorded it as read 4 times.
    • 2/5
      I think I would like a modern English version of this historical (fiction?) play as there was plenty of action. However I struggled with Shakespeare's writing too much to enjoy it.
    • 3/5
      My memory is sketchy on the facts of John's reign, this may be colored by Shakespeare's need to please Queen Elizabeth and re-write history a bit, but then, who reads Shakespeare for history? There are certainly many pithy, witty and funny lines within this drama. Though it isn't my favorite, it was good to read. I really enjoyed the two women sending verbal barbs at each other, and even teared up a bit at Arthur's death.
    • 5/5
      I love, love, love King John. I can see why it's hardly ever performed, though - there's several characters that only show up for a scene or two before leaving (the three women - Constance, Queen Elinore and Blanche disappear after act three), plus it would be hard to find a child actor that could memorize and speak Arthur's role. But, dear God, the characters! Constance and Philip the Bastard may be two of my favorite characters in all the histories. Constance is just so nuts - her catfight with Queen Elinor is hilarious - and the Bastard is so completely epic in every way. His constant haranguing of Austria is hilarious, and his utterly mad schemes of warfare (that always end up working!) are just...he's just awesome.
    • 4/5
      I don' t know why Shakespeare's King John is so little known. It has an involving story line and some quirky characters that I imagine could be played very effectively, though I have never had the opportunity to see it on stage. King John is as bad as he is legendarily supposed to be, though not without redeeming qualities. The famous Eleanor of Aquitaine of Lion in Winter fame plays a substantial part. There is, however, no comic character to compare with Falstaff of the Henry IV plays, though Richard the Bastard, the supposed illegitimate son of King Richard the Lion Heart, has a fair number of snarky lines, and is, in his role of outside observer, a satiric commentator on the political insincerities of the other characters, until his assumption of a redemptive role in the final act.

      I had to brush up on the history of the real King John after reading the play. It turns out that King John had a very convoluted and eventful life filled with sound and fury, and Shakespeare selected episodes from it to weave into a tragedy without much regard to the actual historical sequence of events. Yet every episode dramatizes something that is part of the historical record.
      I recommend King John if you have already read the major Shakespeare plays. Otherwise go read them first, i.e. Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, Antony and Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Henry IV Parts I and II, Henry V, Othello, etc. King John is not at the same level of excellence, but is still worth a read.
    • 4/5
      Has powerful moment when Prince Arthur is pleading with Hubert for his life.
    • 4/5
      This play has absolutely the best line in Shakespeare: Let that be thy message and go rot!
    • 3/5
      Certainly not among Shakespeare's greatest plays, "King John" isn't among his worst either. I found it pretty middle of the road overall -- a decent plot and good pacing, but lacking in those memorable lines of dialog that have filtered into modern times.The plot, like most of the bard's historical plays, focuses on the struggle over the throne as a vacillating and somewhat weak-willed King John fights with the French. All this is viewed through his brother's illegitimate son's eyes.I'm not sure why this is ranked with Shakespeare's least popular plays -- it's not half bad.
    • 3/5
      The Bastard Faulconbridge, illegitimate son of Richard the Lion-Hearted, is welcomed at the beginning of the play into the retinue of his uncle John. He spends most of the rest of the play being shocked at the inability of the medieval powers that be to keep their word or maintain their honor or stay the course or even show decent familial feelings when "commodity" enters the picture. This dour play, almost a satire, puts King John in Richard III's position, i.e., having a young boy as a dangerous political rival, but John behaves more like Richard II than III, giving the death order rashly, then whining over its consequences.

    Book preview

    King John - William Shakespeare

    King John

    William Shakespeare

    DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

    Mineola, New York

    DOVER THRIFT EDITIONS

    G

    ENERAL

    E

    DITOR

    : M

    ARY

    C

    AROLYN

    W

    ALDREP

    E

    DITOR OF

    T

    HIS

    V

    OLUME

    : A

    LISON

    D

    AURIO

    Copyright

    Copyright © 2015 by Dover Publications, Inc.

    All rights reserved.

    Theatrical Rights

    This Dover Thrift Edition may be used in its entirety, in adaptation, or in any other way for theatrical productions, professional and amateur, in the United States, without fee, permission, or acknowledgment. (This may not apply outside of the United States, as copyright conditions may vary.)

    Bibliographical Note

    This Dover edition, first published in 2015, contains the unabridged text of King John, as published in Volume XI of The Caxton Edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Caxton Publishing Company, London, n.d. The introductory Note was prepared specially for this edition, and the explanatory footnotes from the Caxton edition have been revised.

    International Standard Book Number

    eISBN-13: 978-0-486-79007-7

    Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporation

    79693001 2015

    www.doverpublications.com

    Note

    W

    ILLIAM

    S

    HAKESPEARE

    (1564–I6I6) was born in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England. Although much of his early life remains sketchy, it is known that he moved to London around 1589 to earn his way as an actor and playwright. He joined an acting company known as Lord Chamberlain’s Men in 1594, a decision that finally enabled him to share in the financial success of his plays. Only eighteen of his thirty-seven plays were published during his lifetime and these were usually sold directly to theater companies and printed in quartos, or single-play editions, without his approval.

    Written around 1594–96, this work chronicles the rule of the often criticized King John of England. The play commences as King John learns of the betrayal of his nephew Arthur, who has aligned with the French king in order to usurp the throne. This is only the beginning of his difficulties. Full of treachery and dramatic battle scenes, the play explores the events leading up to the eventual demise of the ill-fated king.

    DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

    K

    ING

    J

    OHN

    .

    P

    RINCE

    H

    ENRY

    , son to the king.

    A

    RTHUR

    , Duke of Bretagne, nephew to the king.

    The Earl of P

    EMBROKE.

    The Earl of E

    SSEX

    .

    The Earl of S

    ALISBURY

    .

    The L

    ORD

    B

    IGOT

    .

    H

    UBERT

    D

    E

    B

    URGH

    .

    R

    OBERT

    F

    AULCONBRIDGE

    , son to Sir Robert Faulconbridge.

    P

    HILIP

    the BASTARD, his half-brother.

    J

    AMES

    G

    URNEY

    , servant to Lady Faulconbridge.

    P

    ETER

    of Pomfret, a prophet.

    P

    HILIP

    , King of France.

    L

    EWIS

    , the Dauphin.

    L

    YMOGES

    , Duke of Austria.

    C

    ARDINAL

    P

    ANDULPH

    , the Pope’s legate.

    M

    ELUN

    , a French lord.

    C

    HATILLON

    , ambassador from France to King John.

    Q

    UEEN

    E

    LINOR

    , mother to King John.

    C

    ONSTANCE

    , mother to Arthur.

    B

    LANCH

    of Spain, niece to King John.

    L

    ADY

    F

    AULCONBRIDGE

    .

    Lords, Citizens of Angiers, Sheriff, Heralds, Officers, Soldiers, Messengers, and other Attendants.

    S

    CENE

    : Partly in England, and partly in France

    CONTENTS

    ACT I.

    ACT II.

    ACT III.

    SCENE II. The Same. Plains Near Angiers.

    SCENE IV. The Same. The French

    ACT IV.

    SCENE II. King John’s Palace.

    SCENE III. Before the Castle.

    ACT V.

    SCENE II. The Dauphin’s Camp at St Edmundsbury.

    SCENE III. The Field of Battle.

    SCENE IV. Another Par t of the Field.

    SCENE V. The French Camp.

    SCENE VI. An Open Place in the Neighbourhood of Swinstead Abbey.

    SCENE VII. The Orchard at Swinstead Abbey.

    ACT I.

    SCENE I. King John’s Palace.

    Enter K

    ING

    J

    OHN

    , Q

    UEEN

    E

    LINOR

    , P

    EMBROKE

    , E

    SSEX

    , S

    ALISBURY

    , and others, with C

    HATILLON

    K

    ING

    J

    OHN

    . Now, say, Chatillon, what would France with us?

    C

    HAT

    . Thus, after greeting, speaks the King of France

    In my behaviour to the majesty, 3

    The borrowed majesty, of England here.

    E

    LI

    . A strange beginning: borrowed majesty!

    K. J

    OHN

    . Silence, good mother; hear the embassy.

    C

    HAT

    . Philip of France, in right and true behalf

    Of thy deceased brother Geffrey’s son,

    Arthur Plantagenet, lays most lawful claim

    To this fair island and the territories, 10

    To Ireland, Poictiers, Anjou, Touraine, Maine,

    Desiring thee to lay aside the sword

    Which sways usurpingly these several titles,

    And put the same into young Arthur’s hand,

    Thy nephew and right royal sovereign.

    K. J

    OHN

    . What follows if we disallow of this?

    C

    HAT

    . The proud control of fierce and bloody war, 17

    To enforce these rights so forcibly withheld.

    K. J

    OHN

    . Here have we war for war and blood for blood,

    Controlment for controlment: so answer France. 20

    C

    HAT

    . Then take my king’s defiance from my mouth,

    The farthest limit of my embassy.

    K. J

    OHN

    . Bear mine to him, and so depart in peace:

    Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France;

    For ere thou canst report I will be there,

    The thunder of my cannon shall be heard: 26

    So hence! Be thou the trumpet of our wrath

    And sullen presage of your own decay. 28

    An honourable conduct let him have.

    Pembroke, look to’t. Farewell, Chatillon. 30

    [Exeunt Chatillon and Pembroke.²⁵⁷

    E

    LI

    . What now, my son! have I not ever said

    How that ambitious Constance would not cease

    Till she had kindled France and all the world,

    Upon the right and party of her son?

    This might have been prevented and made whole

    With very easy arguments of love,

    Which now the manage of two kingdoms must 37

    With fearful bloody issue arbitrate.

    K. J

    OHN

    . Our strong possession and our right for us.

    E

    LI

    . Your strong possession much more than your right, 40

    Or else it must go wrong with you and me:

    So much my conscience whispers in your ear,

    Which none but heaven and you and I shall hear.

    Enter a Sheriff

    E

    SSEX

    . My liege, here is the strangest controversy

    Come from the country to be judged by you,

    That e’er I heard: shall I produce the men?

    K. J

    OHN

    . Let them approach.

    Our abbeys and our priories shall pay

    This expedition’s charge.

    Enter ROBERT FAULCONBRIDGE, and PHILIP his bastard brother

    What men are you?

    B

    AST

    . Your faithful subject I, a gentleman 50

    Born in Northamptonshire, and eldest son,

    As I suppose, to Robert Faulconbridge,

    A soldier, by the honour-giving hand

    Of Coeur-de-lion knighted in the field.

    K. J

    OHN

    . What art thou?

    R

    OB

    . The son and heir to that same Faulconbridge.

    K. J

    OHN

    . Is that the elder, and art thou the heir?

    You came not of one mother then, it seems.

    B

    AST

    . Most certain of one mother, mighty king;

    That is well known; and, as I think, one father: 60

    But for the certain knowledge of that truth

    I put you o’er to heaven and to my mother: 62

    Of that I doubt, as all men’s children may.

    E

    LI

    . Out on thee, rude man! thou dost shame thy mother

    And wound her honour with this diffidence. 65

    B

    AST

    . I, madam? no, I have no reason for it;

    That is my brother’s plea and none of mine;

    The which if he can prove, a’ pops me out

    At least from fair five hundred pound a year:

    Heaven guard my mother’s honour and my land! 70

    K. J

    OHN

    . A good blunt fellow. Why, being younger born,

    Doth he lay claim to thine inheritance?

    B

    AST

    . I know not why, except to get the land.

    But once he slander’d me with bastardy:

    But whether I be as true begot or no,

    That still I lay upon my mother’s head;

    But that I am as well begot, my liege,—

    Fair fall the bones that took the pains for me!— 78

    Compare our faces and be judge yourself.

    If old Sir Robert did beget us both 80

    And were our father and this son like him,

    O old Sir Robert, father, on my knee

    I give heaven thanks I was not like to thee!

    K. J

    OHN

    . Why, what a madcap hath heaven lent us here!

    E

    LI

    . He hath a trick of Coeur-de-lion’s face; 85

    The accent of his tongue affecteth him. 86

    Do you not read some tokens of my son

    In the large composition of this man?

    K. J

    OHN

    . Mine eye hath well examined

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