A spectacular venue for last nights production of Shakespeare‘s King John. This one is rarely produced and so I was thrilled to finally get to see it performed live! It was one of only four Shakespeare productions I haven‘t seen yet. It has one of the best pictures of grief when a mother loses her son. Heartbreaking and powerful on the stage.
pickI LOVED the cynical dark humor of this play. If you are, like me, the type of person who can laugh out loud over the irony of a child (true heir to the throne) sweet talking his way out of torture and death as ordered by his uncle, the king, only to immediately die in a clumsy fall all by himself, you might also love this play. Lots of snide commentary about war, pompous interference from Rome, and shifting loyalties.
pick(Background shows the joys of getting new floors installed)
Mad world! Mad Kings! WS‘s least popular history rewards attention. Ok, King John‘s nephew comes to an awkward end. But the play looks at political expediency, a desperate king of iffy legitimacy invaded by the French. And, in place of a wise fool we have the Bastard, the perfect king if only. And he can express himself…and he‘s got a pretty good speech writer. #shakespearereadalong
so-soA bunch of stuff happens in this one! This dude called Arthur dies in the most Humpty Dumpty way, King John himself dies in the most Brother Cadfael way, & in the meantime there's a poetic Bastard observing all of it & dropping bars like he has a rap album in the works. The language was fire, the play itself was meh, but the best part was reading through all of Shakespeare's plays with the #ShakespeareReadAlong gang. We started in October of 2017!
panThis gets extra points for language. But ultimately it's sort of ridiculous. Like over dramatic. Think Monty Python with a mix of Disney's Robin Hood thrown in (or Bedknobs if that's your jam). Obviously this predates all of those things so maybe it's a trend setter. No idea why this was giving me Mad Hatter vibes before I even started, but there you go.
King John Act 5 - #shakespearereadalong
With this act we have a #completeshakespearecycle Click the # for merelybookish‘s post.
This is the act that skips the Magna Carta (signed this week, on June 15, in 1215). And this was the 1st play filmed (see 👇)
Also there was drama. England repels an invasion. The Bastard takes over in a kingly way but doesn‘t overstep. And KJ dies of poison, handing off to Henry.
And we‘re done. What do you think?
Just finished Act V of King John, and so ends a Sunday ritual that's been going since 2017 when #shakespearereadalong was launched. Since then, we have made our way through all of his plays! (Re)discovered why some continue to endure! Also how even the Bard has some duds. LOL. It's been an enriching & enjoyable experience. And one is never really done with Shakespeare! No doubt I will continue to revisit some of my faves! Thanks to everyone👇
Well ok then.... This play is just nonsense imo.
It‘s quietly overlooked in our play, but King John signed the Magna Carta on this day, in 1215. #shakespearereadalong
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
https://www.history.com/.amp/topics/british-history/magna-carta
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/06/15/day-history-magna-carta-fou...
King John Act IV - #shakespearereadalong
One summary: Arthur will die. No he won‘t! Yes he was killed. No he wasn‘t. He‘s fine. Um, he‘s dead.
Another: KJ undermines his weak popular support, just as the French are invading, by having his nephew killed. While KJ and Hubert wrestle with their souls and responsibility, the Bastard tries to figure out what to do. Oh - the moms are dead too.
Such a deranged act. Thoughts? Has the Bard lost you?
WELL THAT GOT DARK FAST! Act IV Scene 1. WTF. Somehow we swung from France going to war with England to a marriage based truce to excommunication of John and back to warring with France to OMG someone thinks it is a good idea to put out a kid's eyes with hot pokers. #shakespearereadalong
King John Act III - #shakespearereadalong
What a tangled swarm of personal tensions and clashing self-interests. King P, Constance, Austria, Bastard, King J, Pandulph, Lewis, Blanch, Hubert each have their way to plow, and silent Arthur, though he does not know.
I think this is both a tough and powerful act. The construction crams so much on the stage at once, and I thought the language was up to the task. Were you able to hang in? Thoughts?
(Pictured: Hubert upon seeing Kings Philip and John march up)
King John - Act II
#Shakespearereadalong
King Philip fights King John for Angiers for Arthur, the moms scrabble, Hubert waffles, and King Philip walks away with all of France through his son‘s marriage. The Bastard provides stunned commentary on the “Mad World! Mad Kings!”. Constance throws an impotent fit. Arthur pleads “be content”.
A little more work this week. Thoughts?
I was surprised how easily and pleasantly this first act read, and, on rereading, I find it thoroughly charming and clever. The Bastard has stolen act one, with continuous wit.
“Well sir, by this you cannot get my land:
Your tale must be how he employed my mother.”
WWMPD - that is what would Monty Python Do - with this. What do you think?
King John Act 1: #Shakespearereadalong
Time to start a new play for Sunday morning breakfast with Shakespeare.
I completely forgot about this as I was considering my reading for this week, so I‘m glad I happened to see some reminder posts. I joined this readalong late, but it‘s amazing to see how some of you are finishing a complete read through of the plays with this one.
#ShakespeareReadalong #ArkAngelShakespeare #BookAndBreakfast
Fun Fact: King John is the Great-Great-Grandfather of Richard II, where we started our little tour of Shakespeare‘s history plays. So I guess, in a way, we‘ve come full circle. It might be interesting to read the history plays in chronological order of the time periods they depict. We‘d still be left with some duds though.
#Shakespeare #KingJohn #shakespearereadalong
What do you think #shakespearereadalong? Accurate?
W Shakespeare (II) is "Very much like reality TV programme Wife Swap, but set in Italy." ?
From an article "All Possible Plots By Major Authors" https://www.the-fence.com/issues/issue-4/all-possible-plots-by-major-authors
@Graywacke @GingerAntics
Reminder - for us completists and bold souls willing to take on “the runt in the litter of Shakespeare‘s plays on English history” - we start King John next week.
#Shakespearereadalong
Act I - May 22
Act II - May 29
Act III - June 5
Act IV - June 12
Act V - June 19
Here‘s a link I found helpful that ponders if this play is a farce or not. https://interestingliterature.com/2020/01/summary-analysis-william-shakespeare-k...
#Shakespearereadalong - This will complete the cycle for our read along through every play (although as I joined late, I missed several). We have talked about some sonnet ideas. So stay tuned for that.
The lesser known King John comes with a contorted plot. So before you start, strap in and be ready to hang on. You can find a plot summary here: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-play...
so-soI didn't love it. This is the first of his histories I've read, though I've seen some performed. I just didn't think it all meshed well. There's several Shakespeare plays I love (mostly comedies, ngl), but I found the language in this one to be particularly inaccessible at times, especially when King John or the Bastard were speaking. They were also both incredibly long-winded. Who knows, maybe Robin Hood has just poisoned the man for me.
School being what it is I'm reading a new play about once a week - this time it's King John and the language is kicking my butt. This edition is SO ANNOTATED that I get lost reading the footnotes and forget what's happening in the play. I'm working my way through On Acting for my major.
I'm listening to No One Goes Alone through the Libby app. I'm only a few chapters in. And, ofcourse, Akhenaten for #foodandlit2022. That's my #weekendreading !
pick“King John” might not ever be my favorite of Shakespeare‘s plays, but with every reading, I *do* like it more and more! More about Richard Plantagenet than the title character, it covers the battle for England and who/what that means in the early 13th century.
Image: Folger edition resting atop ‘Asimov‘s Guide to Shakespeare‘
I‘m reviving my 2019 personal challenge to read Shakespeare‘s Histories, starting with “King John”.
Pandulph‘s lines 115-119 in Act III, Scene 4– referring to King John— seems appropriate today (literally) as it did when Shakespeare wrote them ~400 years ago!
pickA lot of people cite this as their least favorite of Shakespeare's plays, but I actually found it fascinating not only in what was written but what was *not* written! King John's claim to the throne is contested, the noblemen are fickle with their allegiances, the French are being, well French, and the women are catty! The Church is a busybody, stirring shit up and King John is presented as a sort of Protestant prototype. But no Magna Carta... ⬇️
John the #Bastard making a play to be cast as Tony Stark I cannot even
🤣
#shakespeare #historyplayschallenge
Falling problematically in love with John the #Bastard, brb
#shakespeare #historyplayschallenge
pickShakespeare and 🍒.
“Grief fills the room up of my absent child, Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me... My life, my joy, my food, my all the world!”
“Grow great by your example, and put on the dauntless spirit of resolution.
Away, and glister like the god of war
When he intendeth to become the field.
Show boldness and aspiring confidence.”
“Mad world, mad kings, mad composition (agreement)!”
so-soThis is definitely one of Shakespeare's lesser works. Based on the ending, it appears to want to be a tragedy, but one can't help but think that King John had it coming to him, and it's nigh impossible to sympathize with him. Philip the Bastard does have some wonderful soliloquies and is a fun character, but is not enough to save this from being, thus far, my least favorite of the Bard's plays.
Oh #KingJohn, I know I read you once but I don't remember a thing. Some argue you are one of Shakespeare's least popular plays. Maybe that's why I forgot you. 🤷
#seductiveshakespeare @jenniferw88
King John | 
