King John, remembered today as the villainous opponent of Robin Hood and the Magna Carta, was regarded by Shakespeare and his audience as a heroic figure who stood up to Englands enemies. When the French challenge Johns claim to the throne and seek to install his nephew Arthur in his place, England is forced into war. Yet the political principles so hypocritically proclaimed are soon forgotten as the French and English kings form an alliance based on cynical self-interest. While the paranoid and weak-willed king clings to power, his country is threatened with disaster. The play is accompanied by an introduction to Shakespeares life and Elizabethan theatre, a chronology, further-reading suggestions, an essay on staging the work for the theatre and screen, and a commentary.
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