After reading King John, viewing or hearing at least one production, and reading the lecture, you are now ready to discuss elements of the play here in discussion board virtual space. Choose just 2 of the questions below to write a 100 word minimum response to each question, quoting at least once from the play, citing the Act, Scene, and Lines. Use standard formatting for this–for example: (2.3.44-47) means Act Two, Scene Three, Lines 45 to 47.
Once you have posted two responses, then respond with a substantive answer to two of your classmates (not a compliment or a criticism per se, but a response to the content of the play as viewed by a classmate).
- In what sense is King John as much a tragedy as it is a history?
- Are there structural differences in a history play?
- What reasons can be given for King John’s reputation for the worst king in England’s history?
- What motive does Pandolf have for meddling in the dispute between King John and King Philip?
- Considering the marriage of Blanche and the Dauphin, how have marital roles changed from then until now?
- Eleanor d’Aquitaine is a large historical figure for whom another play could be devoted. How is she depicted in King John?
- A King (or a President) should be above getting their hands dirty in a crime, or even being associated with a crime, so they sometimes speak their desires in an off-handed way in order to claim plausible deniability. How does John talk about the wish to murder Arthur with Hubert?
- What would Shakespeare’s justification be for using canons, or any anachronism for that matter?
- In King John, Shakespeare most certainly had his mind on the Elizabethan concerns of his day. How might the conflict between Mary Queen of Scotts and Elizabeth echo the dilemma between Arthur and King John?
- The poetry in King John is every bit as good as in Shakespeare’s more famous and more studied plays. Find additional examples for:
• Anaphora (IV.ii. 3-18)
• Chiasmus (IV.ii. 220-221)
• Alliteration (II.i. 442-443)
• Metaphor (II.i. 221-223)
• Metonymy (III.iv. 140-141)
• Paradox (III. i. 118)
• Personification (V.vii. 42-49) - Who is your favorite character in the play?
- Why do you think the signing of the Magna Carta gets only 4 or so lines in the play?
- Do we have the moral right to assassinate a tyrant? (Stalin, Hitler, Saddam Hussein…) If we do, are there any conditions?
- Surely, Shakespeare was familiar with Machiavelli’s writing, The Prince. Can you find evidence for this in Act V, scene 2? Explain.
