The Life and Death of King John
The Life and Death of King John, a history play by William Shakespeare, dramatises the reign of John, King of England (ruled 1199–1216), the son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and the father of Henry 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 the First Folio.
King John is closely related to an anonymous history play, The Troublesome Reign of King John (c. 1589), the "masterly construction" the infelicitous expression of which led Peter Alexander to argue that Shakespeare's was the earlier play. E. A. J. Honigmann elaborated these arguments, both in his preface to the second Arden edition of King John, and in his 1982 monograph on Shakespeare's influence on his contemporaries. The majority view, however, first advanced in a rebuttal of Honigmann's views by Kenneth Muir, holds that the Troublesome Reign antedates King John by a period of several years; and that the skilful plotting of the Troublesome Reign is neither unparalleled in the period, nor proof of Shakespeare's involvement.
Excerpted from King John on Wikipedia.
The Life and Death of King John
| Author | William Shakespeare |
| Country | England |
| Genre | Drama, History Play, |
| Copyright | Public domain worldwide. |
| Book cover | 'Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1852–1917), as King John in 'King John' by William Shakespeare' Image: wikimedia |
| Ebooks | Project Gutenberg |
| Scans | Google-digitized |
| Audio | Librivox | Internet Archive Reader: Group, Dramatic Readings 00 01 02 03 04 05 |
| Read online | The Life and Death of King John |
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