Wikipedia

King John(play)

The Life and Death of King John,often shortened toKing John,ahistory playbyWilliam Shakespeare,dramatises the reign ofJohn, King of England(ruled 1199–1216), the son ofHenry II of EnglandandEleanor of Aquitaineand the father ofHenry III of England.It is believed to have been written in the mid-1590s, but it was not published until 1623, when it appeared in theFirst Folio.[1]

Herbert Beerbohm Tree(1852–1917), as King John in 'King John' by William Shakespeare,Charles A. Buchel(1900)

Characters

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Family tree of characters inKing John
PLANTAGENETCAPET
Henry II
K.England 1154–89		Eleanor of AquitaineLouis VII
K.France 1137–80
Richard I
K.England 1189–99		GeoffreyLady ConstanceKING JOHN
K.England 1199–1216		Eleanor
Queen of Castile		Philip II
K.France 1180–1223
Philip
Faulconbridge
(‘The Bastard’)		ArthurHenry III
(‘Prince Henry’)
K.England 1216–72		Blanche of CastileLouis VIII
(‘The Dauphin’)
K.France 1223–26

Synopsis

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King John receives an ambassador from France who demands with a threat of war that he renounce his throne in favour of his nephew, Arthur, whom the French King Philip believes to be the rightful heir to the throne underprimogeniture.

John adjudicates an inheritance dispute between Robert Faulconbridge and his older brotherPhilip,whom Robert accuses ofillegitimacy.QueenEleanor of Aquitaine,the mother to King John, notes that that Philip looks very similar to her late son KingRichard the Lionheart.Queen Eleanor accordingly suggests that Philip renounce his claim to the Faulconbridge estates in exchange for a non-inheriting position within theHouse of Plantagenetand aknighthood.After mocking Robert Faulconbridge's ugliness at length, Philip enthusiastically agrees and Queen Eleanor praises Philip as possessing "the very spirit of Plantagenet". King John knights Philip as Sir Richard the Plantagenet. Afterwards, learning Philip has renounced his inheritance, Lady Faulconbridge reluctantly confirms Queen Eleanor's suspicions about her son's secret parentage to him.

A 19th century drawing byThomas Nast

As part of his efforts to backregime changein theAngevin Empire,King Philip and his forces besiege the Angevin walled city ofAngers,threatening to put them to the sack unless the citizens accept Prince Arthur as their King. Philip is supported by the Duke of Austria, who is alleged to have killed Richard the Lionheart. The English Army arrives. Queen Eleanor then trades insults with Constance, Arthur's mother. Kings Philip and John argue their claims in front of Angers' citizens, but to no avail: their representative says that they will support the rightful king, whoever that turns out to be upon the battlefield.

The French and English armies clash, but no clear victor emerges. Each army dispatches a herald claiming victory, but Angers' citizens continue to refuse to recognize either claimant because neither army has proven victorious.

Philip the Bastard proposes that the armies of England and France unite against Angers. The citizens suggest an alternative proposal: that Philip's son, Louis the Lion, marry John's niece Blanche of Castile. The proposal would give John a stronger claim to the throne while Louis would gain territory for France. Though a furious Constance denounces King Philip for abandoning the claims of Prince Arthur, Louis and Blanche are married offstage.

Cardinal Pandolf arrives fromPope Innocent IIIbearing a formal accusation. As the latest salvo of theInvestiture Controversy,King John is blocking the Pope's chosen Archbishop,Stephen Langton,from theDiocese of Canterburyand has further imposedCaesaropapismupon theCatholic Church in England.John defies theHoly Seeand vows that "No Italian priest shall tithe or toll in our dominions", whereupon the Cardinal declares himexcommunicatedand invokes thePapal deposing powerto remove him as King. Pandolf demands that the French king renounce the new treaty, though Philip is hesitant, having just established familial ties to King John. Cardinal Pandolf points out that Philip's links to the Vatican are older and firmer.

Battle breaks out; the Duke of Austria is slain and beheaded by the Bastard in revenge for his father's death; and both Angers and Prince Arthur are captured by John's army. Queen Eleanor is left in charge of theAngevin Empirein France, while the Bastard is sent toextortfunds from English monasteries. John secretly orders Hubert to kill Arthur. Pandolf informs Louis that he now has as strong a claim to the English throne as Arthur or John, and Louis agrees to invade England.

"King John", Act IV, Scene 1, Hubert and Arthur(from the Boydell series),James Northcote(1789)

Hubert is reluctant to blind and kill Prince Arthur and spares him in secret. TheEnglish nobilitydemand Arthur's release. John agrees, but Hubert then tells him that Arthur is dead. The nobles, believing the Prince was murdered by his own uncle, defect to Louis' side. Equally upsetting, and more heartbreaking to John, is the news of his mother's death, along with that of Lady Constance. The Bastard reports that the monasteries are unhappy about John's attempt to steal their lands and gold. Hubert has a furious argument with John, during which he reveals that Arthur is still alive. John, delighted, sends him to report the news to the nobles.

The Gossiping Blacksmith,Edward Penny(1769)

Arthur dies after jumping from a castle wall during an escape attempt. The nobles find his body, believe he was murdered by John, and refuse to believe Hubert's entreaties. A defeated John surrenders his crown to Pandolf, who reverses John's excommunication and gives the crown back in return for the restored independence of the English Church from control by the State. John orders the Bastard, one of his few remaining loyal subjects, to lead the English army against the invading forces from France.

While the English nobility swears allegiance to Louis, Pandolf arrived and explains that John has renounced his claims of supreme authority over the English Church, but Prince Louis vows to continue his invasion anyway and seize the Crown of England for himself. The Bastard arrives with an English army and threatens Louis, but to no avail. War breaks out with substantial losses on each side, including Louis' reinforcements, who are shipwrecked and drowned during the sea crossing. Many English nobles return to John's side after a dying French nobleman, Melun, warns them that Louis plans to kill them all after his victory.

John is poisoned offstage by a monk, whose loyalties and motivations are left unexplained. His nobles gather around him as he dies. The Bastard plans a second assault on Louis' forces, until he learns that Cardinal Pandolf has negotiated a peace treaty. Starting with his cousin, Philip the Bastard, theEnglish nobilityall swear allegiance to John's sonPrince Henry,who decrees that his father shall be buried inWorcester,as he himself had wished. Before the curtain falls, Philip the Bastard reflects:

"O, let us pay the time but needful woe,
Since it hath been beforehand with our griefs.
This England never did and never shall,
Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror,
But when it first did help to wound itself.
Now these her princes are come home again,
Come the three corners of the world in arms,
And we shall shock them. Nought shall make us rue,
If England to itself do rest but true. "

Sources

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The first page ofKing Johnfrom theFirst Folioof Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623

King Johnis closely related to an anonymous history play,The Troublesome Reign of King John(c. 1589), the "masterly construction"[9]the infelicitous expression of which ledPeter Alexanderto argue that Shakespeare's was the earlier play.[13]E. A. J. Honigmannelaborated these arguments, both in his preface to the secondArden editionofKing John,[14]and in his 1982 monograph on Shakespeare's influence on his contemporaries.[15]The majority view, however, first advanced in a rebuttal of Honigmann's views byKenneth Muir,[16]holds that theTroublesome ReignantedatesKing Johnby a period of several years; and that the skilful plotting of theTroublesome Reignis neither unparalleled in the period, nor proof of Shakespeare's involvement.[17]

Shakespeare derived fromHolinshed's Chroniclescertain verbal collocations and points of action.[e]Honigmann discerned in the play the influence ofJohn Foxe'sActs and Monuments,Matthew Paris'Historia Maior,and the LatinWakefield Chronicle,[19]but Muir demonstrated that this apparent influence could be explained by the priority of theTroublesome Reign,which contains similar or identical matter.[f]

Date and text

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The date of composition is unknown, but must lie somewhere between 1587, the year of publication of the second, revised edition ofHolinshed's Chronicles,upon which Shakespeare drew for this and other plays, and 1598, whenKing Johnwas mentioned among Shakespeare's plays in thePalladis TamiaofFrancis Meres.[21]The editors of the Oxford Shakespeare conclude from the play's incidence of rare vocabulary,[22]use of colloquialisms in verse,[23]pause patterns,[24]and infrequent rhyming that the play was composed in 1596, afterRichard IIbut beforeHenry IV, Part I.[25]

King Johnwas first printed in 1623 as part of theFirst Folio.A play titledThe Troublesome Reign of King Johnattributed to Shakespeare first printed in 1591 exists, but modern scholars dismiss the attribution as extremely unlikely to be legitimate.[26]

King Johnis one of only two plays by Shakespeare that are entirely written in verse, the other beingRichard II.

Performance history

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A photograph ofRobert B. Mantellas King John

The earliest documented performance dates from 1737, whenJohn Richstaged a production at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane.In 1745, the year of theJacobite rebellion,competing productions were staged byColley CibberatCovent GardenandDavid Garrickat Drury Lane.Charles Kemble's 1823 production made a serious effort at historical accuracy, inaugurating the 19th century tradition of striving for historical accuracy inShakespeareanproduction. Other successful productions of the play were staged byWilliam Charles Macready(1842) andCharles Kean(1846). Twentieth century revivals includeRobert B. Mantell's 1915 production (the last production to be staged onBroadway) andPeter Brook's 1945 staging, featuringPaul Scofieldas the Bastard.

In theVictorian era,King Johnwas one of Shakespeare's most frequently staged plays, in part because its spectacle and pageantry were congenial to Victorian audiences.King John,however, has decreased in popularity: it is now one of Shakespeare's least-known plays and stagings of it are very rare.[27]It has been staged four times on Broadway, the last time in 1915.[28]It has also been staged five times from 1953 to 2014 at theStratford Shakespeare Festival.[29]

The death of King John, in an 1865 production of the play at theDrury Lane Theatre,London

Herbert Beerbohm Treemade asilent filmversion in 1899 entitledKing John.It is a short film consisting of the King's death throes in Act V, Scene vii and is the earliest surviving film adaptation of a Shakespearean play.King Johnhas been produced for television twice: in 1951 withDonald Wolfitand in 1984 withLeonard Rossiteras part of theBBC Television Shakespeareseries of adaptations.[30]

George Orwellspecifically praised the play in 1942 for its view of politics: "When I had read it as a boy it seemed to me archaic, something dug out of a history book and not having anything to do with our own time. Well, when I saw it acted, what with its intrigues and doublecrossings,non-aggression pacts,quislings,people changing sides in the middle of a battle, and what-not, it seemed to me extraordinarily up to date. "

Selected recent revivals

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TheRoyal Shakespeare Companybased in Stratford-upon-Avon presented three productions ofKing John:in 2006 directed by Josie Rourke as part of their Complete Works Festival,[31]in 2012 directed by Maria Aberg who cast a woman, Pippa Nixon, in the role of the Bastard,[32]and in 2020, directed byEleanor Rhodeand with a woman, Rosie Sheehy, cast in the role of King John. The company's 1974–5 production was heavily rewritten by directorJohn Barton,who included material fromThe Troublesome Reign of King John,John Bale'sKing Johan(thought to be Shakespeare's own sources) and other works.[33][34]

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has staged the play several times, most recently in 2022 in a production with a cast of women and non-binary actors.[35][36]

TheChicago Shakespeare TheateronNavy Pierpresented the play in its 1990-1991 season and again in 2003-2004.[37]

Phil Leach as King John in the 2016Worcester Repertory Companyproduction directed byBen Humphrey,facing the realKing John's tomb inWorcester Cathedral.

In 2008, theHudson Shakespeare Companyof New Jersey producedKing Johnas part of their annualShakespeare in the Parksseries. Director Tony White set the action in the medieval era but used a multi-ethnic and gender swapping cast. The roles of Constance and Dauphin Lewis were portrayed by African American actors Tzena Nicole Egblomasse and Jessie Steward and actresses Sharon Pinches and Allison Johnson were used in several male roles. Another notable departure for the production is the depiction of King John himself, often portrayed as an ineffectual king. Actor Jimmy Pravasilis portrayed John as a headstrong monarch sticking to his guns on his right to rule, whose unwillingness to compromise caused his downfall.[38]

New York's Theater for a New Audience presented a "remarkable"in-the-roundproduction in 2000, emphasising Faulconbridge's introduction to courtrealpolitikto develop the audience's own awareness of the characters' motives. The director wasKarin Coonrod.[39][40]

In 2012,Bard on the Beach[41]in Vancouver, British Columbia put on a production. It was also performed as part of the 2013 season at theUtah Shakespeare Festival,recipient of America's Outstanding Regional Theatre Tony Award (2000), presented by theAmerican Theatre Wingand theLeague of American Theatres and Producers.

The play was presented atShakespeare's Globe,directed byJames Dacre,as part of the summer season 2015 in the 800th anniversary year ofMagna Carta.[42]A co-production withRoyal & Derngate,this production also played inSalisbury Cathedral,Temple ChurchandThe Holy Sepulchre, Northampton.

TheRose Theatre,Kingston upon Thames,Surrey hostedSir Trevor Nunn's direction of the play during May and June 2016, in the quatercentenary year of Shakespeare's death and the 800th anniversary year of King John's death.

TheWorcester Repertory Companystaged a production of the play (directed byBen Humphrey) in 2016 around the tomb of King John inWorcester Cathedralon the 800th anniversary of the king's death.[43]King John was played by Phil Leach.[43][failed verification]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Appears variously in the Folio of 1623 asElinor,Eleanor,Ele.,Elea.,andEli.Contemporary editors unanimously prefer the formEleanor.[2][3][4][5]
  2. ^The First Folio uses the spelling "Britaine", which it also uses inCymbelinewhere it means "Britain".
  3. ^The First Folio normally refers to him as the "Dolphin", which is a literal translation of the French title "Dauphin".
  4. ^Braunmuller,[6]following Wilson, rejects his identification with Hubert de Burgh on the basis of the exchange at 4.3.87–89. 'BIGOT: Out, dunghill! Dar'st thou brave a nobleman?' 'HUBERT: Not for my life; but yet I dare defend / My innocent life against an emperor'.[7]
  5. ^Although the author of theTroublesome Reignalso drew upon Holinshed's work, the appearance inKing Johnof material derived from Holinshed but unexampled in the other play suggests both authors independently consulted theChronicles.[18]
  6. ^With the exception of Eleanor's dying on 1 April, which Muir argues was derived not from theWakefield Chronicle,as Honigmann had argued, but from the conjunction of Eleanor's death and a description of an inauspicious celestial omen on 1 April on a particular page of Holinshed.[20]

Citations

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  1. ^William Shakespeare.King John.Arden Shakespeare Third Series edited by Jesse M. Lander and J.J.M. Tobin, Bloomsbury, 2018, 65–102
  2. ^Braunmuller (2008),p. 117.
  3. ^Jowett (2005),p. 426.
  4. ^Beaurline (1990),p. 60.
  5. ^Honigmann (1965),p. 3.
  6. ^Braunmuller (2008),p. 277, fn 2.
  7. ^Jowett (2005),p. 446.
  8. ^William Shakespeare.King John.Arden Shakespeare Third Series edited by Jesse M. Lander and J. J. M. Tobin, Bloomsbury, 2018, 165
  9. ^Tillyard (1956),p. 216.
  10. ^Alexander (1929),pp. 201 ff.
  11. ^Honigmann (1983),p. 56.
  12. ^Alexander (1961),p. 85.
  13. ^Alexander (1929),[10]cited in Honigmann (1983)[11]and in Alexander (1961).[12]
  14. ^Honigmann (1965),pp. xviii ff..
  15. ^Honigmann (1983),pp. 56–90.
  16. ^Muir (1977),pp. 78–85.
  17. ^Braunmuller (2008),p. 12.
  18. ^Honigmann (1965),p. xiii.
  19. ^Honigmann (1965),pp. xiii–xviii.
  20. ^Muir (1977),p. 82.
  21. ^Braunmuller (2008),p. 2.
  22. ^Wells (1987),p. 100.
  23. ^Wells (1987),p. 101.
  24. ^Wells (1987),p. 107.
  25. ^Wells (1987),p. 119.
  26. ^Shakespeare, William; Rasmussen, Eric; Bate, Jonathan (10 April 2012).King John & Henry VIII.Random House Publishing Group. p. 416.ISBN978-0812969399.
  27. ^Dickson (2009),p. 173.
  28. ^League, The Broadway."King John – Broadway Show".www.ibdb.com.Retrieved21 March2018.
  29. ^Stratford Shakespeare Festival production history
  30. ^Holderness (2002),p. 23.
  31. ^Billington, Michael (4 August 2006)."King John Swan, Stratford-upon-Avon".The Guardian.
  32. ^Costa, Maddy (16 April 2012)."RSC's King John throws women into battle Shakespeare lived in a man's world – but the RSC is recasting his 'battle play' King John with women in the thick of the action".The Guardian.
  33. ^Cousin, Geraldine (1994).King John.Manchester, England: Manchester University Press. pp. 64 et sec.ISBN0719027535.
  34. ^Curren-Aquino, Deborah T., ed. (1989).King John: new perspectives.Newark: University of Delaware Press. p. 191.ISBN0874133378.
  35. ^"King John".Oregon Shakespeare Festival.Retrieved21 February2023.
  36. ^Ortega, Darleen (21 September 2022)."Oregon Shakespeare Festival: King John and Confederates".The Portland Observer.Retrieved21 February2023.
  37. ^"Chicago Shakespeare Theater: Production History".www.chicagoshakes.com.Retrieved13 June2022.
  38. ^"THIS SUMMER ALL THE WORLD" S A STAGE Bard on the Boulevard Continues with 'King John'".Cranford Chronicle. 4 July 2008.
  39. ^Brantley, Ben (21 January 2000). "King John".The New York Times.
  40. ^Bevington, David; Kastan, David, eds. (June 2013). "King John on stage".Shakespeare: King John and Henry VIII.New York: Random House.
  41. ^"Home".Bard on the Beach.Retrieved21 March2018.
  42. ^Cavendish, Dominic (7 June 2015)."King John, Shakespeare's Globe, review: 'could hardly be more timely'".The Telegraph.Retrieved24 June2015.
  43. ^ab"King John will be present for Shakespeare in the cathedral".Worcester News.5 October 2016.Retrieved4 May2018.

Sources

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  • Alexander, Peter (1929).Shakespeare's "Henry VI" and "Richard III".Cambridge.
  • Alexander, Peter (1961).Shakespeare's Life and Art.New York University Press.
  • Dickson, Andrew (2009). Staines, Joe (ed.).The Rough Guide to Shakespeare.Rough Guides (2nd ed.). London, UK.ISBN978-1-85828-443-9.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Jowett, John; Montgomery, William; Taylor, Gary; Wells, Stanley, eds. (2005) [1986].The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works(2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-926718-9.
  • Holderness, Graham; McCullough, Christopher (2002) [1986]. "Shakespeare on the Screen: A selective filmography". In Wells, Stanley (ed.).Shakespeare Survey.Vol. 39. Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-52377-X.
  • Honigmann, E.A.J. (1983) [1982].Shakespeare's Impact on his Contemporaries.Hong Kong: The Macmillan Press Ltd.ISBN0-333-26938-1.
  • Hunter, G.K. (1997).English Drama 1586–1642: The age of Shakespeare.The Oxford history of English Literature. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.ISBN0-19-812213-6.
  • McMillin, Scott; MacLean, Sally-Beth (1999) [1998].The Queen's Men and Their Plays.Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-59427-8.
  • Muir, Kenneth (1977).The Sources of Shakespeare's Plays.London: Methuen & Co Ltd.ISBN0-416-56270-1.
  • Shakespeare, William (1965) [1954]. Honigmann, E.A.J. (ed.).King John.Welwyn Garden City: Methuen & Co. Ltd.
  • Shakespeare, William (1990). Beaurline, L.A. (ed.).King John (The New Cambridge Shakespeare).Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-29387-7.
  • Shakespeare, William (2008) [1989]. Braunmuller, A. R. (ed.).The life and death of King John.Oxford World's Classics. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-953714-3.
  • Tillyard, E.M.W. (1956) [1944].Shakespeare's History Plays.London, UK: Chatto & Windus.
  • Wells, Stanley; Taylor, Gary; Jowett, John; Montgomery, William (1987).William Shakespeare: a textual companion.New York, NY: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-812914-9.
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