King John
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
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.
Read more from William Shakespeare
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: All 214 Plays, Sonnets, Poems & Apocryphal Plays (Including the Biography of the Author): Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Othello, The Tempest, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard III, Antony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, The Comedy of Errors… Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Christmas Library: 250+ Essential Christmas Novels, Poems, Carols, Short Stories...by 100+ Authors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Romeo & Juliet & Vampires Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Shakespeare's First Folio Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shakespeare's Love Sonnets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShakespeare in Autumn (Seasons Edition -- Fall): Select Plays and the Complete Sonnets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsComplete Works of Shakespeare (Annotated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to King John
Related ebooks
King Henry VI: Part Two In Plain and Simple English (A Modern Translation and the Original Version) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing Lear In Plain and Simple English (A Modern Translation and the Original Version) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Winter's Tale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dutch Lover: "There is no sinner like a young saint." Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lying Valet: 'Wonders will never cease'' Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Plays Of Roswitha Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe School for Scandal, The Rivals, and The Critic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Henry IV, Part 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Miser Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHamlet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King John Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The White Devil Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Way We Live Now Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPeter Pan – the Original Play by J. M. Barrie - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe History of Mary Prince Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5As You Like It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5THE COLLECTED WORKS OF GEORGE BERNARD SHAW: Pygmalion, Candida, Arms and The Man, Man and Superman, Caesar and Cleopatra… Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pretentious Young Ladies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trivial Pursuits Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDelphi Complete Works of Beaumont and Fletcher (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Merchant of Venice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Widowers' Houses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing Richard III Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hecuba Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Drinks With Dead Poets: A Season of Poe, Whitman, Byron, and the Brontes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Life Is a Dream Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing Henry VI, Part 1 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lysistrata and Other Plays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Troilus and Cressida Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lysistrata Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Performing Arts For You
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diamond Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Trial Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hamlet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book: The Script Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hollywood's Dark History: Silver Screen Scandals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucky Dog Lessons: From Renowned Expert Dog Trainer and Host of Lucky Dog: Reunions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Comedy Bible: From Stand-up to Sitcom--The Comedy Writer's Ultimate "How To" Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best Women's Monologues from New Plays, 2020 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes: Revised and Complete Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fifth Mountain: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Whale / A Bright New Boise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How I Learned to Drive (Stand-Alone TCG Edition) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coreyography: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Life in Parts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wuthering Heights Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Dolls House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Robin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unsheltered: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Strange Loop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Importance of Being Earnest: A Play Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sisters Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Midsummer Night's Dream, with line numbers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for King John
168 ratings10 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Having 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I 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. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Has powerful moment when Prince Arthur is pleading with Hubert for his life.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This play has absolutely the best line in Shakespeare: Let that be thy message and go rot!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5WS 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Certainly 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The 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.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5My 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.
Book preview
King John - William Shakespeare
KING JOHN
By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
A Digireads.com Book
Digireads.com Publishing
Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-3218-8
Ebook ISBN 13: 978-1-59625-477-0
This edition copyright © 2012
Please visit www.digireads.com
CONTENTS
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
ACT I.
SCENE I. King John's Palace.
ACT II.
SCENE I. France. Before the walls of Angiers.
ACT III.
SCENE I. France. The French King's tent.
SCENE II. France. Plains near Angiers.
SCENE III. France. Plains near Angiers.
SCENE IV. France. The French King's camp.
ACT IV.
SCENE I. England. A Castle.
SCENE II. England. King John's Palace.
SCENE III. England. Before the castle.
ACT V.
SCENE I. England. King John's Palace.
SCENE II. England. The Dauphin's camp at Saint Edmundsbury.
SCENE III. England. The Field of Battle.
SCENE IV. England. Another part of the battlefield.
SCENE V. England. The French camp.
SCENE VI. An open place near Swinstead Abbey.
SCENE VII. The orchard of Swinstead Abbey.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
KING JOHN. PRINCE HENRY, his son
ARTHUR, DUKE OF BRITAINE, son to Geffrey, late Duke of Britaine, the elder brother to King John.
WILLIAM MARSHALL, Earl of Pembroke.
GEOFFREY FITZ-PETER, Earl of Essex, Chief Justiciary of England.
WILLIAM LONGSWORD, Earl of Salisbury.
ROBERT BIGOT, Earl of Norfolk.
HUBERT DE BURGH, Chamberlain to the King.
ROBERT FALCONBRIDGE, son to Sir Robert Falconbridge.
PHILIP FALCONBRIDGE, his half-brother, bastard son to King Richard I.
JAMES GURNEY, servant to Lady Falconbridge.
PETER OF POMFRET, a prophet
PHILIP, King of France.
LOUIS, the Dauphin.
ARCHDUKE OF AUSTRIA.
CARDINAL PANDULPH, the Pope's legate.
MELUN, a French lord.
CHATILLON, Ambassador from France to King John.
ELINOR, Widow of King Henry II and Mother to King John.
CONSTANCE, Mother to Arthur.
BLANCH OF SPAIN, Daughter to Alphonso, King of Castile, and Niece to King John.
LADY FALCONBRIDGE, Mother to the Bastard and Robert Falconbridge.
Lords, Citizens of Angiers, Sheriff, Heralds, Officers, Soldiers, Messengers, Attendants and other Attendants.
THE SCENE: ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
ACT I.
SCENE I. King John's Palace.
[Enter KING JOHN, QUEEN ELINOR, PEMBROKE, ESSEX, SALISBURY, and others, with CHATILLON.]
KING JOHN. Now, say, Chatillon, what would France with us?
CHATILLON. Thus, after greeting, speaks the King of France,
In my behaviour, to the majesty,
The borrow'd majesty of England here.
ELINOR. A strange beginning:—borrow'd majesty!
KING JOHN. Silence, good mother; hear the embassy.
CHATILLON. 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,—
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.
KING JOHN. What follows if we disallow of this?
CHATILLON. The proud control of fierce and bloody war,
To enforce these rights so forcibly withheld.
KING JOHN. Here have we war for war, and blood for blood,
Controlment for controlment;—so answer France.
CHATILLON. Then take my king's defiance from my mouth,
The farthest limit of my embassy.
KING JOHN. 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:
So, hence! Be thou the trumpet of our wrath,
And sullen presage of your own decay.—
An honourable conduct let him have:—
Pembroke, look to 't. Farewell, Chatillon.
[Exeunt Chatillon and Pembroke.]
ELINOR. 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
With fearful bloody issue arbitrate.
KING JOHN. Our strong possession and our right for us.
ELINOR. Your strong possession much more than your right,
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 the Sheriff of Northamptonshire, who whispers to Essex.]
ESSEX. My liege, here is the strangest controversy,
Come from the country to be judg'd by you,
That e'er I heard: shall I produce the men?
KING JOHN. Let them approach.—
[Exit Sheriff.]
Our abbeys and our priories shall pay
This expedition's charge.
[Re-enter Sheriff, with ROBERT FAULCONBRIDGE and PHILIP, his bastard Brother.]
What men are you?
BASTARD. Your faithful subject I, a gentleman
Born in Northamptonshire, and eldest son,
As I suppose, to Robert Falconbridge,—
A soldier by the honour-giving hand
Of Coeur-de-lion knighted in the field.
KING JOHN. What art thou?
ROBERT. The son and heir to that same Falconbridge.
KING JOHN. Is that the elder, and art thou the heir?
You came not of one mother then, it seems.
BASTARD. Most certain of one mother, mighty king,—
That is well known; and, as I think, one father:
But for the certain knowledge of that truth
I put you o'er to heaven and to my mother:—
Of that I doubt, as all men's children may.
ELINOR. Out on thee, rude man! thou dost shame thy mother,
And wound her honour with this diffidence.
BASTARD. 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!
KING JOHN. A good blunt fellow.—Why, being younger born,
Doth he lay claim to thine inheritance?
BASTARD. I know not why, except to get the land.
But once he slander'd me with bastardy:
But whe'er 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!—
Compare our faces and be judge yourself.
If old Sir Robert did beget us both,
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!
KING JOHN. Why, what a madcap hath heaven lent us here!
ELINOR. He hath a trick of Coeur-de-lion's face;
The accent of his tongue affecteth him:
Do you not read some tokens of my son
In the large composition of this man?
KING JOHN. Mine eye hath well examined his parts,
And finds them perfect Richard. Sirrah, speak,
What doth move you to claim your brother's land?
BASTARD. Because he hath