‘The Life and Death of King John’ chronicles the chaos that followed the death of King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England and the tug-of-war between the French forces trying to put the bastard son of Richard’s brother Philip on the throne of England and the machinations of Richard’s youngest brother John, to keep the crown.
Filled with court intrigue, battles and shifting alliances, ‘King John’ is among the best of Shakespeare’s history plays, featuring a sprawling, epic struggle between the French and English forces and some of Shakespeare’s most fascinating characters, including King John, his mother Queen Eleanor as well as royals, schemers and the young would-be young king, Arthur.
Written in the mid-1590’s and published in 1623, ‘The Life and Death of King John’ is presented here in its original and unabridged format.
Over de auteur
William Shakespeare is generally acknowledged as the greatest dramatist in the history of English literature. Also a poet and actor, Shakespeare was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, where he received an education at the local grammar school, but whether he attended any educational institution subsequent to his early tutelage is unknown. By eighteen, Shakespeare was married – to an already-pregnant Anne Hathaway – and the couple would go on to have three children, Susanna and the twins Hamnet and Judith. (Hamnet died at 11 years old.) Shakespeare moved to London soon after the birth of the twins and began publishing poems (‘Venus and Adonis’ (1593) and ‘The Rape of Lucrece’ (1594)) and joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men as an actor and playwright. Shakespeare stayed with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men throughout his career, producing some of his finest work – ‘King Lear, ‘ ‘Macbeth’ and ‘The Tempest’ among them – after the company fell under the patronage of King James I and became The King’s Men. During his career, Shakespeare penned 38 plays, two narrative poems and over 150 sonnets and enjoyed considerable financial success, eventually buying New Place, one of the largest homes in Stratford. Following his death in 1616 at the age of 52, thirty-six of his plays were collected and published as the First Folio and his entire canon – including his extant plays, sonnets and poems – were published as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s plays are the most produced dramatic works in existence and they have been translated and adapted into countless stage, screen and television productions over the years. Entire theatres are devoted to producing his works and his writings are studied and analyzed in literature classes around the world.
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