King John Theme of Memory and the Past

Even though Shakespeare's King John is set around the turn of the 12th to 13th centuries, the events in the play parallel events from Shakespeare's 16th-century world. It turns out that writing about England's history was a pretty effective way for Shakespeare to get his audience thinking about their current political situation.

For Elizabethans, King John's struggle with Catholic France was similar to their own struggles as an officially Protestant country menaced by Catholic Spain. Because of his struggles with the Pope, the historical King John seemed to mirror Queen Elizabeth I, who also had serious issues with the Catholic Church. Because King John resisted a foreign invasion, he probably reminded Elizabethans of their own defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, only a few years before King John was first performed.

More darkly, King John's execution of his nephew Arthur might have reminded Shakespeare's audience of Queen Elizabeth's gruesome execution of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, which also came about as the result of fears about a rival claim to the throne.

As always, it's hard to see where Shakespeare stands on the pros and cons of these various issues. It seems like he's less interested in taking sides than getting his audience to think about some complicated political issues. One area where the play is much less ambiguous is on the need for England to stick together to resist foreign invasion. This thought is put into the mouth of the Bastard, in a patriotic speech at the very end of the play.

1. Why would people in Shakespeare's day have been especially interested in the reign of King John?
2. Does Shakespeare's play draw a key lesson from the past for the people of his own day?
3. The events of King John's reign are not as fresh in our minds as they were in the minds of Shakespeare's original audience. Does his reign still have lessons to teach us today?
4. Does King John give any hint of Shakespeare's stance on the religious conflict (Catholic vs. Protestant) of his day?

The key lesson provided by Shakespeare's play is that the English must stick together to avoid being conquered.

Despite generally portraying the Catholic Church in a negative light, King John doesn't portray the English king as a great hero, either.