King John
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
King John is one of
Shakespeare's
history plays. The play details the history of Richard the Lionhearted's younger brother, King
John of England.
The play opens with a demand from the French King that King John abdicate in favor of his elder brother, Geffery's son, Arthur. The five acts follow a dizzying change of alliances, Papal excommunication and subsequent acceptance, and ends finally with King John's death at the hands of a monk.
Throughout the play, a character known as "The Bastard" delivers a commentary on nobility, "commodity" and English sovereignty.
Cast
- King John
- Prince Henry, son to the King (the future Henry III)
- Arthur, Duke of Britain, nephew to the King (Arthur I, Duke of Brittany)
- Earl of Pembroke (William Marshal)
- Earl of Essex (Geoffrey FitzPeter)
- Lord Bigot
- Hubert de Burgh
- Robert Faulconbridge, son of Sir Robert Faulconbridge
- Philip the Bastard, his half-brother (also called Richard)
- James Gurney, servant to Lady Faulconbridge
- Peter of Pomfret, a prophet
- Philip, King of France (Philip II of France)
- Louis, the Dauphin (future Louis VIII of France)
- Lymoges, Duke of Austria
- Cardinal Pandolph, the Pope's Legate
- Melune, a French Lord
- Chatillion, ambassador from France to King John
- Queen Elinor, widow of Henry II, mother to King John (Eleanor of Aquitaine)
- Constance, widow to Geffrey (John's elder brother), mother to Arthur
- Blanch of Spain, daughter to the King of Castile, niece to King John
- Lady Faulconbridge, widow of Sir Robert Faulconbridge
- Lords, heralds, etc.
External Links
See also:
