The Life and Death of King John

By William Shakespeare

The Life and Death of King John, one of William Shakespeare's historical plays, delves into the tumultuous reign of one of England's most controversial monarchs. 

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Left of Brain Books
• Release date: Feb 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9781396325038

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is arguably the most famous playwright to ever live. Born in England, he attended grammar school but did not study at a university. In the 1590s, Shakespeare worked as partner and performer at the London-based acting company, the King’s Men. His earliest plays were Henry VI and Richard III, both based on the historical figures. During his career, Shakespeare produced nearly 40 plays that reached multiple countries and cultures. Some of his most notable titles include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. His acclaimed catalog earned him the title of the world’s greatest dramatist.

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The Life and Death of King John By

William Shakespeare

First published in 1598

Image 1

Published by Left of Brain Books

Copyright © 2023 Left of Brain Books ISBN 978-1-396-32503-8

eBook Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations permitted by copyright law. Left of Brain Books is a division of Left Of Brain Onboarding Pty Ltd.

PUBLISHER’S PREFACE

About the Book

The Life and Death of King John is one of the Shakespearean histories, plays written by William Shakespeare and based on the history of England. The play dramatizes the reign of King John of England (reigned 1199-1216), son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and father of Henry III of England.

(Quote from wikipedia.org)

About the Author

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the Bard of Avon (or simply The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585

and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears

to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590

and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language.

In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called

bardolatry. In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are consistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

Around 150 years after Shakespeare's death, doubts began to emerge about the authorship of Shakespeare's works. Alternative candidates proposed include Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford. Although all alternative candidates are almost universally rejected in

academic circles, popular interest in the subject, particularly the Oxfordian theory, has continued into the 21st century."

(Quote from wikipedia.org)

CONTENTS

PUBLISHER’S PREFACE

LIST OF CHARACTERS .................................................................... 1

ACT 1, SCENE 1 ............................................................................. 3

ACT 2, SCENE 1 ........................................................................... 14

ACT 3, SCENE 1 ........................................................................... 37

ACT 3, SCENE 2 ........................................................................... 51

ACT 3, SCENE 3 ........................................................................... 52

ACT 3, SCENE 4 ........................................................................... 56

ACT 4, SCENE 1 ........................................................................... 63

ACT 4, SCENE 2 ........................................................................... 70

ACT 4, SCENE 3 ........................................................................... 81

ACT 5, SCENE 1 ........................................................................... 89

ACT 5, SCENE 2 ........................................................................... 93

ACT 5, SCENE 3 ......................................................................... 101

ACT 5, SCENE 4 ......................................................................... 103

ACT 5, SCENE 5 ......................................................................... 106

ACT 5, SCENE 6 ......................................................................... 108

ACT 5, SCENE 7 ......................................................................... 111

LIST OF CHARACTERS

CHARACTER

DESCRIPTION

KING JOHN

PRINCE HENRY

Son to the king

ARTHUR

Duke of Bretagne, nephew to

the king

PEMBROKE

The Earl of PEMBROKE

ESSEX

The Earl of ESSEX

SALISBURY

The Earl of SALISBURY

BIGOT

The Lord BIGOT

HUBERT

HUBERT DE BURGH

ROBERT

Son to Sir Robert Faulconbridge

BASTARD

His

half-brother

GURNEY

Servant to Lady Faulconbridge

PETER

A prophet

KING PHILIP

King of France

LEWIS

The Dauphin

AUSTRIA

Duke of AUSTRIA

CARDINAL PANDULPH

The Pope's legate

MELUN

A

French Lord

CHATILLON

Ambassador from France to

King John

QUEEN ELINOR

Mother to King John

CONSTANCE

Mother to Arthur

BLANCH

Niece to King John

LADY FAULCONBRIDGE

First Citizen

French Herald

English Herald

First Executioner

Messenger

ACT 1, SCENE 1

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 behavior to the majesty,

The borrow'd majesty, of England here.

QUEEN 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 these 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

QUEEN ELINOR

What now, my son! have I not ever