Theater: King John

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Background- One of the best known historic play by William Shakespeare, that deals with nobility, murder and passion of the Victorian period.

King John is one of the most famous historical play written by William Shakespeare and is based on the history of England. The play revolves around the reign of King John of England, who reigned from 1199-1216, son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and father of Henry III of England. It was one of the most popular historic play, that used to frequently staged during the Victorian Era and till date remains popular. The play King John was first published in the First Folio in 1623. This play is somewhat similar to some of the earlier historic plays, such as The Troublesome Reign of King John (ca. 1589). It is generally believed that the earlier plays on King John provided some background for Shakespeare's work.

This play opens up with the scene of French King Phillip who is demanding from the King John to abdicate in favor of his nephew Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, who is the son of his elder brother Geoffrey. The play consists of five acts that wove the story through a dizzying change of alliances, and also some other interesting scenes and the play finally ends with the death of King John who dies slowly because of the effect of poisoning at the hands of a monk. Throughout the play you will find a character "The Bastard" who always has to say something skeptical about nobility, self-interest and English Sovereignty. Most of the things in play resembles the Victorian age.

William Shakespeare is regarded as one of the greatest English poet and playwright. Not only this he was also one of the greatest master in English literature and till date no one has been able to surpass him. He wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets as well as a number of poems. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small country town. Little is known about the early life of Shakespeare. He is assumed to have been educated at Stratford Grammar School. When Shakespeare was 18 years old, he married Anne Hathaway. Their first child, Susannah was born within six months and in 1585 they had twins, named Hamnet and Judith. At the tender age of 11 Hamnet died of illness. It is generally believed that the lines "Grief fills the room of my absent child" in King John reflects Shakespeare's grief. When Shakespeare arrived in London, theater was undergoing some changes. The popularity of morality and academic plays was drawing to a close as the English Renaissance took hold and so famous playwrights like Thomas Kyd and Christopher Marlowe started to revolutionize the theater. Inspired by such revolution, Shakespeare took these changes to a new level that explored the basic elements of the human beings. In his plays, there is a combination of popular appeal with complex characterization, poetic grandeur, and philosophical depth. He was known to be a very rapid writer in his day. It is said that his mind and hand went together. He also wrote two heroic narrative poems, Venus and Adonis (1593) and Lucrece (1594). He possessed a large vocabulary of his day.

William Shakespeare has created King John that is undoubtedly rich in literary complex and has still been continuing to delight both readers and audiences with its various interpretations and meanings.

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