1596 - 'King John' and Personal Tragedy - “Grief fills the room up of my absent child…”

1596  - 'King John' and Personal Tragedy - “Grief fills the room up of my absent child…”

After the success of 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'A Midsummer's Night's Dream', and the relative absence of the plague in 1595, William Shakespeare could start to enjoy the relative quietness of his lodgings in Bishopsgate and get down to writing for the 1596 season. Although there were probably murmurings in the streets about the rebuilding of the Spanish Fleet and potential attacks to France and England and the wars in Ireland were looking to have no end, 1596 probably started well for Shakespeare as he put plume to paper to write The Life and Death of King John. But probably soon after the play opened, personal tragedy struck Shakespeare, when he would have got an urgent message to say that his son Hamnet (aged 11) had died (probably of the plague) in Stratford upon Avon on August 11, 1596. We do not know if William Shakespeare attended the funeral of his own son.

Shakespeare kept working. So to The Life and Death of King John. It was written sometime in 1596 and on one level it could be seen as a rather staid and relatively historically accurate play set in the 13^th century. It is much less dramatic and more histrionic than some of Shakespeare’s previous Histories. But on another level, for an Elizabethan audience, this could be seen as a radical examination of who has a legitimate claim to inheritance and the throne. We can see John or even Philip the Bastard as representative of either Elizabeth or even her father Henry VIII and Arthur as representative of Mary Queen of Scots. In this context, the play and events take on a whole new meaning.  In 1596, Queen Elizabeth I was 66 years old. Her beauty was fading and most of her hair had fallen out. To exacerbate her situation, Elizabeth I had started to grant monopolies as a simple and relatively cost free way of assuring patronage. This started to lead to price fixing and this soon became worse when the spring 1596 harvests started to fail. This environment makes King John an interesting choice of subject matter for Shakespeare.

The play starts with King John, the youngest of Henry II’s five sons to Eleanor of Aquitaine (and just like Elizabeth I he was never expected to take the thrown), his mother Queen Eleanor and a host of courtiers waiting to hear what King Philip of France has to say about supporting King John. Chatillon relays that King Philip believes that King John’s elder half brother Arthur (whose mother was Constance) has rightful claim over the throne suggests that war might be the outcome. King John will not give up the throne and answers:

“Here have we war for war and blood for blood…”

Chatillon leaves with war looming over everybody’s heads.

Queen Eleanor sees that Constance (Arthur’s mother) is behind all these machinations:

“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?”

Then the Sheriff enters with Falconbridge and Philip the Bastard. At this point the original performance of the play must have been sailing very close to the wind. Being the eldest son of Robert Falconbridge, Philip the Bastard claims he is the legitimate heir while Falconbridge claims even although he is the second son, he is the rightful heir because his father suspected before he died that Philip was illegitimate and that he was not the father. King John argues that both were brought up by Falconbridge as his own sons. Falconbridge asks whether his father’s final will which disinherits Philip the Bastard is not enough. Queen Eleanor suggests that Philip could claim himself to be the bastard son of Richard the Lionhearted and get his title without land or claim his Falconbridge heritage and get property but a lesser name. Philip the Bastard decides to give his land to his brother and join the attack on France. Philip the Bastard is then knighted by King John and is renamed Sir Richard Plantagenet as he joins King John’s forces.

When the new Sir Richard Plantagenet is left alone, we see how ambitious he is. His mother enters bemoaning the fact that her reputation has been questioned. He states that he has given up his claim to the Falconbridge name and land and asks his mother who his father was. She reveals that his father was in fact Richard the Lionhearted. Philip the Bastard placates his mother and thanks her:

“Now, by this light, were I to get again,

Madam, I would not wish a better father.

Some sins do bear their privilege on earth,

And so doth yours; your fault was not your folly…”

King John Act 2 – “Clapp'd on the outward eye of fickle France… From a resolved and honourable war, to a most base and vile-concluded peace.”

France until recent times has never been a unified entity even since the Treaty of Verdun in 843AD. Battles by English kings on what is now known as French soil were a way for both French and English kings to gain glory, sovereignty and riches. It is interesting that Act 2 of ‘King John’ shows how the face of war is so easily turned by both the firm and fair faces of women and of little seemingly insignificant townships.

The scene switches to outside the walls of the town of Angers. King Philip has assembled a force with Austria to attack Angers if it doesn’t swear allegiance to Arthur as the true king of England. Arthur is remarkably subdued during this interlude although his mother Constance have a lot to say. Chatillon arrives back from England and wants King Phillip to, “Then turn your forces from this paltry siege

And stir them up against a mightier task..”

This is because King John’s large army is almost upon them. King John enters with Queen Eleanor and the Bastard and others. The Bastard will utter asides and end this act with a monologue and thus becomes a commentator to the action as it unfolds, albeit one we know is not entirely to be trusted. After civilities, we see that we are at an impasse since King Philip will not give up until John takes his forces back to England without a fight and gives Arthur the crown of England. Of course, John sees this as unacceptable and even questions where Philip gets off on such demands and claims. King Philip infers that God himself has made him the caretaker of Arthur’s affairs on earth. John scoffs at this.

Arguments about bastardy, infidelity and claims to the thrown abound. Arthur finds this too much and weeps (obviously not a majestical quality). King Philip stops all this and asks the people of Angers to choose their allegiance.  Angers’ citizens say they are subjects of the King of England but refuse to name who they think the King of England is. The people of Angers then leave. Just when the French and the English armies are about to clash. The Bastard suggests that such a small power as Angers should not be holding these two great nations to ransom and suggests that the two armies temporarily join forces against the citizens of Angers. Angers seems to be outplayed.


But then a Citizen of Angers enters with Blanche, the daughter of the King of Spain. The hand in marriage of Blanche is offered to young Louis so that King John would be supported. The tide has turned.King John offers a number of English territories as a dowry. King Philip finally asks Louis how he would feel about the match. Louis is in love and enchanted by Blanche’s beauty. Both King John and King Philip agree. King John sweetens the deal by saying that he will pay off Arthur with lands and property.

The Bastard is then left alone. He bemoans what has taken place:

“Mad world! mad kings! mad composition!”

And then goes on to rail against women and against the rich. He reaches the conclusion that his poverty and his new position are his greatest commodities and he decides he will use them to his own advantage.

King John Act 3 –  “ I will instruct my sorrows to be proud; For grief is proud and makes his owner stoop…”

If Shakespeare had ever wanted to write a play about King Henry VIII without actually explicitly writing about Henry VIII, then ‘King John’ is as close as he would come during Elizabeth I’s life. As the conflicts spiral upwards, in Act 3 of ‘King John’, becomes aware how close to the bone ‘King John’ comes as a play to the life of Elizabeth's father Henry VIII. I am sure that many in the audience would be engrossed in the allegorical parallels to Henry VIII’s life and reign and others would be wondering how close a playwright may come to the chopping block without losing his head.

Constance is not a happy bunny and she rails against the treachery of King Philip of France and how him uniting with King John makes him less noble.

“… trust I may not trust thee; for thy word

Is but the vain breath of a common man…”

She uses a pariah of personifications to persecute King Philip but will not give into sorrow and grief and stands (or rather sits) her ground.

“ I will instruct my sorrows to be proud;

For grief is proud and makes his owner stoop…”


The alliance of King John of England and King Philip of France is symbolized by them holding hands. Louis and Blanche are joined in marriage and great happiness and festivities are declared. Constance is the unofficial killjoy to this celebration. King Philip and Austria cannot calm her as she curses those present and the day itself. Her words seeming mad and angry at this point will be a curse that foreshadows the coming events later in the act. She seeks the help of the heavens themselves:     

“A widow cries; be husband to me, heavens!

Let not the hours of this ungodly day

Wear out the day in peace; but, ere sunset,

Set armed discord 'twixt these perjured kings!”

The focus shifts to a more religious dimension. When Cardinal Pandolf enters he relates the Pope’s displeasure at King John not accepting the Pope’s nomination for the Archbishop of Canterbury. An Elizabethan audience would be tense at this point and wonder whether after examining the rights of bastards and the indiscretions of royal females in Act 1, whether the mention of ties to church and Rome in Act 3 have crossed the line of mentioning the unmentionable. Or perhaps they would be proud since the play may be advocating that England was a pre-Reformation Reformation realm. Remembering that Henry VIII and Elizabeth I had both broken their ties to the Catholic Church of Rome. King John rejects Rome’s right to stand between his divine rights. Pandolf excommunicates John and England. Constance meddles in the melee. “O, lawful let it be

That I have room with Rome to curse awhile!”


Philip is then asked to physically and metaphorically let go of King John’s hand. Austria sides with Rome. Even Louis believes that losing England as a friend is nothing compared to breaking ties with Rome. Philip pleads for Rome not to excommunicate him and France if he keeps his newly formed promises to King John and England. Pandolf is firm in his demands. Blanche is upset that her wedding day seems to about to become a day of rejection, disorder and war and pleads and questions her husband.

“Upon thy wedding-day?

Against the blood that thou hast married?

What, shall our feast be kept with slaughter'd men?”                            

She begs her new husband Louis not to go to war with her Uncle King John. Constance weighs in, again and demands the destruction of King John and England. King Philip concedes and lets go of the hand of King John and England. Philip and John exchange threats and those that met hand in hand in peace and celebration, part as enemies in war.

The Bastard revels in the day and enters with the head of Austria in his hands. Revenge and the machinations of those who desire power at any cost will rule the stage for a scene or two. The battle scene is set with King John, Queen Eleanor his mother (it always pays to keep one’s mother by one’s side in battle), the Bastard, Hubert and Arthur has been captured. An echo of future King Henry VIII is heard from the future when King John orders the Bastard to collect the wealth from the monasteries from the “hoarding abbots”.


Hubert is thanked for his loyalty and service and is reminded that he must keep Arthur (who does not seem up to much) safe and out of harms way and then King John suggests that the grave might be the safest place for Arthur to be warm and safe. This is a magnificent moment in Shakespeare using shared verse to develop character, plot and tension all at once.

KING JOHN

Good Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye

On yon young boy: I'll tell thee what, my friend,

He is a very serpent in my way;

And whereso'er this foot of mine doth tread,

He lies before me: dost thou understand me?

Thou art his keeper.

HUBERT

And I'll keep him so,

That he shall not offend your majesty.

KING JOHN

Death.

HUBERT

My lord?

KING JOHN

A grave.

HUBERT

He shall not live.

KING JOHN

Enough.

I could be merry now…”


A storm brews on the horizon as King Philip enters with Louis and Pandolf. The French fleet is destroyed, Angers is lost, Arthur has been captured, and the English are homeward bound in victory.

Constance enters seemingly mad (as in crazy) but she will claim the crown of grief not madness as her own, since she has heard of the capture of her son Arthur.

“Preach some philosophy to make me mad,

And thou shalt be canonized, cardinal;

For being not mad but sensible of grief…

I am not mad; too well, too well I feel

The different plague of each calamity.”

Constance exits in despair and King Philip in outrage and fear.


Louis then embraces his own “bitter shame” and claims that “nothing in this world can make me joy”. Pandolf words certainly give him no joy initially.

“ Fortune means to men most good,

She looks upon them with a threatening eye.”

Then Pandolf points out that King John will have to kill Arthur and then reminds Louis that because Blanche is his wife that he now has the best claim to the throne of England. Louis is not convinced but Pandolf points out that if people hear of the death of Arthur they will embrace Louis:

“If that young Arthur be not gone already,

Even at that news he dies; and then the hearts

Of all his people shall revolt from him

And kiss the lips of unacquainted change…”

Even Louis now can see the logic (or flattery) of this argument and he goes to plan a new assault against the English. 

King John Act 4 – “I am amazed, methinks, and lose my way

Among the thorns and dangers of this world.”

Shakespeare knows how to create a labyrinth within a plot and use verse to create hedges high and pathways both simple and complex. He seems to be a man of his age but sometimes he titters on the edge of Elizabethan beliefs and looks over the edge to see glimpses of a humanism and individualism that lies as tantalising landscape for England's and for Europe's furure. Is it fate or the actions of men that pull King John down? Shakespeare opens up a world of possibilities. 

Arthur is to be killed by Hubert and his executioners. The scene is harrowing and an audience that had witnessed 'Titus Andronicus' just a few years before must have been feared the worst since little was known of Arthur, his life or his death. Arthur’s youth and his pleadings to keep his eyes even at the expense of loosing his tongue, along with the fire burning too low to make the eye-piercing iron burn enough to pluck out Arthur’s eyes are strong companions and Hubert is moved to pity. Personally, I think it was the beautiful unraveling of metaphors and imagery that melts Hubert’s heart such that he cannot bring himself to kill Arthur. 

“The iron of itself, though heat red-hot,

Approaching near these eyes, would drink my tears

And quench his fiery indignation

Even in the matter of mine innocence;

Nay, after that, consume away in rust

But for containing fire to harm mine eye.”

Hubert does not kill Arthur on the condition that Arthur will not reveal himself as being alive.

King John’s happiness at being back in England is short lived. He even plans a second coronation for himself. Pembroke and Salisbury ask for Arthur to be released. Hubert enters and lies to King John telling that Arthur is dead. When King John announces this, Salisbury and Pembroke rebuff him and announce their intention to attend Arthur’s funeral.

Just when King John is just coming to terms with the fact that his actions may have weakened the throne and his place on it when he receives the news that his mother has died and that a huge French army is arriving to attack his kingdom. King John, wracked with grief at the loss of his mother seems unable to take action of any sort. Enter The Bastard, with news of the success of his monastery plunderings and also with news that people are prophesying the demise of King John’s reign by the next national holiday. Why King John does not just simply cancel the next national holiday, I don't know. King John orders the death of one such ‘prophet’ and ties to blame Hubert for Arthur’s death claiming that it is not exactly what he had ordered. Hubert shows him the death warrant sign by King John but the king continues to blame Hubert. At the last moment, Hubert reveals that in fact Arthur is still alive. King John is wrapped and shows some remorse for his blame shifting exploits. King John foolishly thinks that all will be well now for him and his reign. But Fortune’s wheel once turned has the momentum to run its own course.

Arthur stands on the edge of the castle wall where he is held. He makes the rash decision to try to escape while he can by jumping, even though even he thinks the walls seem too high. Arthur certainly is not one who has shown great instinct or judgement and he dies from the injuries of his attempt at escape. 

Salisbury and Pembroke arrive at the same castle discussing secret talks that are already being made with Louis and France. The Bastard enters trying to speak for King John and the interests of the crown. His pleas fall on deaf ears. Then Hubert brings the news that Arthur was not killed but is still alive. No-one believes him and he is accused of lying and being a murderer. The body of Arthur is found and Hubert, the King and foul play is presumed. Salisbury and other lords turn coats to join the Dauphin and the French forces which steadily approach.

Hubert is left with The Bastard and pleads that he did not kill Arthur but that he had granted Hubert mercy and that Arthur was alive when Hubert saw him last. The Bastard seems to believe him and they exit preparing to see the king and prepare for battle with not much hope in his heart for victory.

“Now powers from home and discontents at home

Meet in one line; and vast confusion waits,

As doth a raven on a sick-fall'n beast,

The imminent decay of wrested pomp.” 

King John Act 5 – “I am a scribbled form, drawn with a pen/Upon a parchment, and against this fire/ Do I shrink up.”

Many people in 1596 were starting to contemplate what life would be like after Elizabeth I. To speak their thoughts would probably be counted as treason. It is interesting that behind the metaphors and imagery of a play, that Shakespeare can raise crucial questions about royal succession, power and identity.

It seems like Rome will get its way, again. King John offers to give up his crown to get Rome’s help to drive back the French. Pandolf gives back the crown to represent that Rome and the Church gives John the permission and the power to rule. An Elizabethan audience must have gasped. Should England re-embrace Rome’s rule and the Catholic Church’s rule and allow themselves to be pawns of Vatican?

Sometimes it seems the French have all the luck and it seems so at this point as they advance across the English countryside and even take London, it seems that Fortune, Rome and God are on their side. The Bastard, a symbol in this play of those English people who are noble and loyal in their hearts, implores King John to hold fast. King John reveals that he has signed a deal with Pandolf and Rome but The Bastard urges the King to fight on and King John puts The Bastard in charge of the new offensive. Perhaps the original audience would read this as a message to the nobles and advisers of Queen Elizabeth I that they should be encouraged to put faith in the loyal and lowly born subjects of England.

Louis the Dauphin moves across the countryside of England, taking all in his stride. When Pandolf enters and reveals that Rome is now reconciled with King John, Louis refuses to back down or withdraw his forces.

“I, by the honour of my marriage-bed,

After young Arthur, claim this land for mine;

And, now it is half-conquer'd, must I back

Because that John hath made his peace with Rome?”

Am I Rome's slave?”

The Bastard comes to speak on King John’s behalf and declares that John’s forces, his nobles and even the wives of England’s nobles will fight to drive back Louis forces. He suggests that the drums of King John will beat more loudly and rally more people than the drums of France. The drums of war sound.

The stirring words of The Bastard, along with the drums of King John’s forces are heard at least by heaven and by the deft ears of Fortune, for in the next scene King John hears that Frances reinforcements have be wrecked at sea. Shakespeare like many other writers of his time liked to remember and frequently recall Queen Elizabeth’s defeat of the Spanish through her hidden allies of Fate, Fortune and the weather of the English Channel. The tide is turning but the King grows faint, something is afoot.

Louis is astounded at the strength and heart of the English armies. I am sure this has always been an English fantasy, to hear a Frenchman comment on the strength and virtue of Englishmen. It is Louis turn to hear bad news. Melun is dead and the English lords he had on his side have now returned to join King John and his forces.

In an open place near Swinstead Abbey, Hubert and the Bastard meet and Hubert relays that King John is sick and dying because he was poisoned by a monk. King John’s punishment and plundering of the abbeys have ironically come back to bite him. The English lords have Prince Henry brought to King John’s side.

Prince Henry sees his father weak in body and mind before he sees King John die. Henry contemplates in a couplet, the nature of existence and mortality.

“What surety of the world, what hope, what stay,

When this was now a king, and now is clay? “

Revenge seems to be what The Bastard will pursue but then Salisbury brings news of Pandolf’s offer of peace with France. Prince Henry (soon to become King Henry III) advocates that they embrace peace while they can. Revenge is not on the menu for today, so The Bastard turns to a small serving of contemplation and hope topped with sprinkles of ominous warnings to end ‘The Tragedie of the Life and Death of King John’:

“O, let us pay the time but needful woe,

Since it hath been beforehand with our griefs.

This England never did, nor 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.”