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King John
King John | William Shakespeare
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AvidReader25
King John | William Shakespeare
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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.

Graywacke Fantastic! 2y
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LitStephanie
King John | William Shakespeare
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Pickpick

I 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.

LitStephanie #shakespearereadalong I did something I rarely do while reading this one: I read an unannotated version with no notes about the language because I was travelling most of the time. Oddly, this made me enjoy it more. Sometimes, I think we can get caught up in gleaning the exact historical meaning of every word instead of being ok with missing a few things but just letting the language flow. 2y
Graywacke Sometimes the helpful stuff is a distraction. Notes definitely kill the flow. Glad you liked it and found humor in Arthur‘s odd fate. 2y
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Graywacke
King John | William Shakespeare
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Pickpick

(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

batsy I like that it was a pick for you! I imagine if I pick it up again sometime in the future & I set aside some time to only read this & nothing else, I might find it more rewarding. 2y
Graywacke @batsy the language won it for me. 🙂 I agree, all these plays are going to be better with unbroken focus - and, also with performance. But reading in bite-sized bits has its lazy appeal. 2y
DivineDiana New floors! It will all be worth it! 2y
Graywacke @DivineDiana yes. Eventually. I might not feel that way just now. 😕🙂 2y
DivineDiana Understood. 🙂 2y
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review
batsy
King John | William Shakespeare
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Mehso-so

A 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!

batsy It was a big part of my Litsy & reading life. It felt like the best kind of homework, & it was something I looked forward to every weekend even if I might have forgotten about the homework 😂 Thanks to all of the coordinators & buddy readers for a wild trip. We had our Forest of Arden: “And this our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, & good in everything. I would not change it.” 2y
Suet624 💕💕💕 2y
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Graywacke Love your review and full post and Humpty Dumpty way. 💙 And, you know, thanks for all your encouraging Shakespeare posts. 2y
erzascarletbookgasm Hahaha your review! And your post👍💜 (edited) 2y
batsy @Suet624 ❤️ 2y
batsy @Graywacke Thank you, Dan! Reading these plays together has been a blast. 2y
batsy @erzascarletbookgasm Heh 😆 Thanks, Jessie! 😘 2y
tpixie Great job! What an accomplishment! Sounds like you started in early Litsy days!! 2y
batsy @tpixie Thank you! It was such a blast! 😊 2y
tpixie @batsy 🌺 2y
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review
vlwelser
King John | William Shakespeare
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Panpan

This 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.

TheBookHippie I loved the language 🤣🤣♥️ 2y
Graywacke I‘m thinking about a disney writer watching this and suddenly envisioning King John in Robin Hood. Kudos for hanging in there and enjoying the language. 2y
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Graywacke
King John | William Shakespeare
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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?

Graywacke A trailer was filmed in London, England, in September 1899, at the British Mutoscope and Biograph Company's open-air studio on the Embankment. Four scenes were filmed, and one, the death of John, still exists. It lasts about a minute. See link: http://www.warpedfactor.com/2020/06/cinematic-firsts-first-trailer-first.html?m=... 2y
Graywacke And a couple favorite lines:

Bastard: And you degenerate, you ingrate revolts,
You bloody Neroes, ripping up the womb
Of your mother England, blush for shame:



Lewis: We grant thou canst outscold us
2y
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TheBookHippie Well I am so using “There is so hot a summer in my bosom,That all my bowels crumble up to dust…” some time this summer in passing speech 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤦🏻‍♀️ 2y
batsy I loved that "You bloody Neroes" line, too! ?I also liked KJ's "I am a scribbled form, drawn with a pen..." towards his end. But I also LOL-ed at "The King, I fear is poisoned by a monk" because it was very Monty Python. 2y
Lcsmcat @batsy So very Monte Python!!! And I marked the same quotes as @Graywacke and @TheBookHippie . There are some good lines to steal from this play. 2y
Lcsmcat I think the one I‘m going to try to slip in to everyday speech is “We grant thou canst outscold us.” 2y
MoonWitch94 As someone who has popped in & out through the cycle, I highly enjoyed reading with all of you!! Has a decision been made about Sonnets? 2y
TheBookHippie @MoonWitch94 oh I hope so!!! @GingerAntics said something awhile back about it! 2y
TheBookHippie @Lcsmcat oh that‘s good too!! 2y
TheBookHippie I honestly enjoyed this one and researching it was a blast especially with Robin Hood! 2y
merelybookish Lots of great lines! Makes up for the ridiculous plot! I noted the same "scribbled form" line as @batsy. And the guilty monk with his guts gushing out of his belly really added something. ? 2y
TheBookHippie @merelybookish 🤣🤣🤣🤣 language over plot for sure! 2y
vlwelser Language was the best part of this one. And imagining it as told by Monty Python was fun. My favorite lines are from Act IV.... "To guard a title that was rich before, To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet, To smooth the ice, or add another hue to the rainbow, etc..." 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie It‘s a freaking crazy hot summer in my bosom and everywhere else. It‘s just 🥵. Just saying. (And, i was outside for a neighborhood swim team meet for 6 hours yesterday.) 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke my son is in Cross Country… season started this week 🥵 2y
Graywacke @batsy ok, I missed the scribbled form line and love that. I‘m sharing with my art-teacher wife. 🙂 As for Monty Python - I‘m thinking of the wimpy prince saved from the castle in the swamp (Holy Grail) - a play on Arthur? 2y
Graywacke @Lcsmcat someone needs to earn the scold line - then I‘ll use it. 🙂 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie your links to King John cartoon version in Robin hood added immensely to my reading. 🙂 2y
Graywacke @MoonWitch94 @TheBookHippie Litsy ate my post, but @GingerAntics does have a Sonnets plan. I don‘t it, yet, though. Also - FYI - I‘m interested in a good annotated hold-my-hand version - of anyone has suggestions. 2y
Graywacke *know (as is, I don‘t know it, yet) 2y
Graywacke @merelybookish it was such a surprise to get such good language in act V. And, yeah, that Monk. There‘s an image. 2y
Graywacke @vlwelser that‘s the source of “to gild a lily”. 🙂 And completely agree. The language was terrific here. 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke I'm interested in that as well! 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie phew. Hope training is early. (My son might try it next fall) 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke Practice is always early- THANK GOODNESS. Meets are all over the place.....and once every summer they do a midnight run race.....yah... 2y
Lcsmcat @Graywacke I work in local government. Someone always earns the scold line! 2y
Lcsmcat @Graywacke Re the Sonnets, I don‘t have an edition to recommend, but Patrick Stewart read them, in order, in Facebook during lockdown. I bet those recordings are still available. 2y
vlwelser I interviewed a person at work and she used the phrase overgilding the lily. I wrote it down. I still like it. I think it's why this line stuck out to me. And she turned out to be a Shakespeare nut (and not a post millennial quoting iCarly or something equally out of my scope of knowledge). 2y
LitStephanie I loved this play. With what a smart ass Bastard was (still think it is funny that is how he is listed through the entire script), I did not expect him to be such a good soldier, loyal supporter of the king, and so helpful a leader to the end without grasping for more power. I liked how in the end, both John and the Dauphin are seen as very imperfect leaders instead of pure villain or hero. It seems more realistic that way. 2y
LitStephanie @merelybookish I wasn't sure if they were saying the monk also poisoned himself and had explosive diarrhea or if they stabbed him in the guts once they figured out it was him. 🤷 2y
LitStephanie @Lcsmcat @Graywacke the scolding line is great. Loved all the sarcasm in this play. 2y
merelybookish @LitStephanie somehow I assumed he was the king's taster and took on a bit of a suicide mission, needing to poison himself to get to the king. 🤔 Not sure how I arrived at that. 2y
LitStephanie @merelybookish ooh, that would make sense. 2y
GingerAntics This really fell apart at the end. 2y
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merelybookish
King John | William Shakespeare
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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👇

merelybookish Who made this so special, whether you joined for 1 play or 20! I've learned so much from all of you and appreciated your insights and criticisms! We did it! ❤️ 2y
batsy Woohoo! Go us! 🎉🙌🏾 It's been a blast and many thanks to you, @Graywacke and @GingerAntics for coordinating multiple discussions. (Nope, we're never really done with Shakespeare 😆) 2y
merelybookish @batsy I am so happy to have been on this journey with you!! Thank you for all you've given to the group! It does feel a bit like we could start over and read (most of) them again 2y
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erzascarletbookgasm I‘m glad to have read along with this group ( I‘ve conveniently skipped all the history plays). Otherwise I wouldn‘t have read them on my own or understood much! I appreciate all the discussions and insights, I‘ve learnt so much from all of you! Thanks for leading 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 @merelybookish @Graywacke @GingerAntics 2y
GingerAntics It‘s a crazy thought, isn‘t it!!! 2y
GingerAntics @erzascarletbookgasm I have the sonnet schedule ready to go, I just need to make it postable. 2y
Graywacke Thanks @merelybookish and the other original founders and advocates. Thanks for hanging through to completion. Thanks for encouraging strangers like me to get involved and being so welcoming and warm and fun. And thanks @GingerAntics for taking over part of the leadership. To Sonnets! 2y
Graywacke And kudos to @Batsy and @TheBookHippie who read every single play! Wow. 2y
Graywacke #completeshakespearecycle - I‘m using this hashtag to link back here. 🙂 2y
TheBookHippie @merelybookish I so have learned from you!!!! It‘s been a riot! 2y
TheBookHippie @batsy thanks for helping me fall in love with signet!!! I love everything you brought to discussions!!! So much fun! 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke I appreciate all your leading and discussion helps ! What a lovely ride ! 🏆 2y
TheBookHippie @GingerAntics thanks for leading so many amazing discussions!!!! I love your input! Makes me go back and reread! 2y
TheBookHippie I have the mug I won from the first year and I treasure it so!! 2y
batsy @merelybookish @TheBookHippie @Graywacke Right back at you, friends! ❤️❤️❤️ 2y
MoonWitch94 As someone who has popped in & out, I really enjoyed this! It was fun & I loved the conversations. I heard there was talk of doing Sonnets?!?! If not, thanks to you all for hosting! 2y
merelybookish @erzascarletbookgasm Loved having you along and skipping the histories was not an unwise decision. 🙃 More than a few were dreadful. 🙊🤫 2y
merelybookish @GingerAntics That we might want to read them again? 2y
merelybookish @Graywacke Thank you! I feel you've really kept the momentum going, especially this last year or so. Grateful for your leadership and your insightful readings! 2y
merelybookish @TheBookHippie Kudos to you one of the OGs and a total rock ⭐!! I always appreciated your ability to connect aspects of the plays to events in contemporary culture! 2y
merelybookish @MoonWitch94 Always were glad to have you join us! 2y
LitStephanie It was a wonderful discussion group! Glad I found it when I did. 2y
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vlwelser
King John | William Shakespeare
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Well ok then.... This play is just nonsense imo.

vlwelser @Graywacke well, that clears everything up. 2y
vlwelser Jk. It's really quite interesting. 2y
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Graywacke @vlwelser it was random by me, sorry. It‘s the first ever filmed Shakespeare performance. And i just learned today so I was all excited to share. ☺️ 2y
vlwelser @Graywacke I loved it, actually. Very cool. And SO dramatic. It's amazing how much technology has changed. And this play is something else. Of all the ones to be first. 2y
Graywacke @vlwelser yeah, of all the choices. 2y
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Graywacke
King John | William Shakespeare
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GingerAntics 🧡🧡🧡 2y
Graywacke @GingerAntics @merelybookish so, we managed to schedule the exact act Shakespeare skips the Magna on the week of its anniversary. Not bad… 2y
merelybookish @Graywacke @GingerAntics And we thought we were clever when we read A Midsummer Night's Dream in June. 😀 2y
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Graywacke @merelybookish @GingerAntics see, I thought it was all coincidence. Now I‘m sensing you all had a larger plan all along… 🙂 2y
merelybookish @Graywacke What's the reading version of a long con? 😁 2y
GingerAntics @merelybookish 😂🤣😂 @Graywacke we didn‘t have a huge plan, but I remember “hey keys read this one in June because it‘s about June. We did the same thing with 12th night as I recall. 2y
Graywacke @merelybookish 🙂 @GingerAntics think that all happened when I was still a happy clueless follower. 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke 😂🤣😂 2y
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Graywacke
King John | William Shakespeare
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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?

GingerAntics Deranged sums it up perfectly. So many deaths suddenly. It‘s so odd. 2y
vlwelser Deranged for sure. 2y
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TheBookHippie Deranged and quite odd. 2y
merelybookish The scene when Arthur dies. 😳😂🥴 Monty Python couldn't do it better. 2y
jewright Wow! King John can‘t make up his mind. Arthur, why are you jumping off walls? And that scene with the eyes. 🤢 (edited) 2y
batsy "Oh, the mums are dead too"—I shouldn't laugh, but ? The Arthur scene was poor comedy & if I get to meet Shakespeare in the afterlife I'd ask him if he had a good laugh while writing that. I've given up trying to parse the plot, but I'm still enjoying the language. Had a #relatable moment with KJ when he says, "Do not seek to stuff my head with more ill news, for it is full." 2y
Graywacke @GingerAntics @vlwelser @TheBookHippie @merelybookish @jewright @batsy I was thinking we had a great play until this act. I like to imagine that WS was forced to change his plot, that originally he had KJ properly killing Arthur such as he did in the mythology …err, I mean history. And in my same imaginative trend, this weird back and forth game with Arthur‘s death came out. But maybe WS was just having fun. What would Monty Python do? 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke 🤣😂🤣 yes, I feel like Shakes could team up with the Monty Python crew and make some real modern comedies. 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke I think he was having fun but why? I agree with @batsy the language is still good 🤣💯🎉. @GingerAntics I‘d love to hear him now he‘d have so much to work with! 2y
batsy @TheBookHippie @Graywacke Was he just really really really enjoying the ale, malmsley, and mead while writing this? 😆🍻 2y
TheBookHippie @batsy ooo that‘s a thought ! 2y
GingerAntics @TheBookHippie right? So many things he can say now he couldn‘t have back then. It would be brilliant. Terry Jones‘s medieval lit and Will‘s early modern lit would really make quite the combo. 2y
GingerAntics @batsy @TheBookHippie @Graywacke that honestly sounds plausible. Perhaps he was doing “Dry January” when he wrote the first three acts, or it was lent… then we hit February or Easter and he was so excited to have the ale and mead back he over did it a bit while writing act four. 2y
Graywacke @GingerAntics @batsy @TheBookHippie this article implies KJ was a rewrite - they argue a rewrite of his own earlier work. (It‘s 35 pages 😁) https://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/wp-content/uploads/Oxfordian2010_trouble... 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke this is the rewrite?! I‘m terrified to see the original. 2y
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LitStephanie
King John | William Shakespeare
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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

Graywacke And he responds so gently… Must you (burn my eyes out with hit pokers)? I‘m 2y
LitStephanie @Graywacke I know, LOL! 2y
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Graywacke
King John | William Shakespeare
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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?

TheBookHippie I love the language of this and personally think THIS should be taught in English class, at the very least in honors English. It‘s such beauty! I think I‘m hitting my stride at last and even rewatched Disneys Robin Hood 🤣! I think I‘m going to library some books on these folks. Fascinating Shakespeare so far for me. Now I want more history written by others for perspective - I‘m such a student for life nerd. 2y
TheBookHippie Also clashing self interest seems relevant !!! Not much has changed in the world! 2y
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jewright I loved Constance‘s speeches in act III. (edited) 2y
GingerAntics @TheBookHippie I was thinking the same thing. The chaos and me first mentalities are still going strong. I‘m wondering how many ancestors of these folks we have running around these days. 2y
GingerAntics So much going on in this act. What started out so hopeful ended in, apparently, papal permission to invade and overthrow the thrown of England. Go figure. 2y
Graywacke @GingerAntics Pandulph might be the smartest on the stage. 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke I think you might be right!!! 2y
vlwelser I love the language. And picturing this in full Monty Python mode makes it quite entertaining. This play also seems pretty anticatholic. But maybe I'm reading into it a bit too much. 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie I love that you‘re supplementing with Disney. That‘s just awesome. I think it would be a great play for teaching Shakespeare, except how does a teacher sum up this plot? 2y
Graywacke @jewright Constance…and her rants are always correct. Poor Arthur. 2y
Graywacke @GingerAntics @TheBookHippie the odd thing is the self-interest is justified. What choice do they have? 2y
Graywacke @vlwelser i had trouble seeing Monty Python this week - maybe i took these guys too seriously. Shakespeare was writing to an anti-Catholic audience. But also he never forgets the human aspect of clergy. The church here creating a war, and excommunicating for non-religious reasons - it‘s all strategy and power play. There‘s nothing religious about it. I think it‘s more anti-human than anti-Catholic 🙂 2y
vlwelser I'm also reading a novel about Joan of Arc. They're vastly different time periods but oddly similar plots. I may be mixing them all together. 2y
TheBookHippie @GingerAntics quite a few!!! 🤦🏻‍♀️😝 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke I‘ve not worked that part out but I think this is so much better than R & J to teach. 2y
GingerAntics @TheBookHippie I feel like those genes are rampant at the moment. 2y
GingerAntics @TheBookHippie @Graywacke this would be SO much better than R&J to teach, especially because R&J has gotten SO cliche and twisted for parental/adult MOs. 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke @TheBookHippie that‘s a valid point. No one else is going to look out for you in this situation so if you don‘t do it you‘re going to get murdered or something. 2y
batsy I find the play unwieldy and hard to get a grasp on in terms of how the narrative progresses, but I agree that the language is superb. Like @jewright I loved Constance's speeches. "Too well I feel the different plague of each calamity"—tell me about it, Constance! Pandulph is full of cunning, and I did like his "How green you are and fresh in this old world" line; I imagine, said with a knowing glance at the audience. 2y
batsy "Preach some philosophy to make me mad" is something I want on a t-shirt ? 2y
Graywacke @batsy I would buy that shirt! 😂 2y
LitStephanie @batsy me too, that shirt would be hilarious. 2y
LitStephanie @vlwelser I was picturing this act in Monty Python mode, too. Especially the calm heckling by the Bastard. 2y
vlwelser @LitStephanie I think Monty Python might be my general mindset lately. But even when they seem to be serious it comes off a little farcical. But I was also struggling to concentrate on it too. 2y
LitStephanie @vlwelser I think it is supposed to be a little farcical. Very cynical! 2y
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Graywacke
King John | William Shakespeare
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(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?

vlwelser ❤😍 2y
vlwelser I'm not actually done yet. I'll circle back to you later. 2y
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Leftcoastzen 👏😂😂😂😂great photo pick! 2y
batsy I can't lie, I've completely lost the plot in this act and I'm no longer sure what any of them are arguing about anymore, so I'm just reading for the vibes ? I loved Constance losing her shit and the bastard's "mad world" monologue. 2y
merelybookish Reading this I felt I could get the gist of what each person was saying but then had no clue how it all went together. Was there something dodgy at the end with Huebert? I can't tell if John has it in for Arthur, as Constance seems to believe. 2y
TheBookHippie @batsy 🤣💯 I am loving the verbiage … not sure if I have a handle on the plot, but I do love it! It was soothing to read these words this week, it oddly quieted my mind and let me enjoy literature. Now to figure out what‘s going on 🤣! 2y
TheBookHippie Also photo 💯♥️ 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke ooo thanks! Didn‘t have the energy to look up things this week. 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie it‘s a brutal plot summary…I found I could follow ok, but summing becomes quickly overwhelming. 2y
Lcsmcat Excellent choice of illustration! The guys on the battlements saying “you go on and kill each other and then we‘ll decide who‘s right” cracked me up. 2y
GingerAntics @Lcsmcat that was great! It also kept their own people out of the argument. I thought it was very clever. 2y
Graywacke @vlwelser @Leftcoastzen @TheBookHippie Monty Python could have done this play terrifically. @Lcsmcat @GingerAntics for a moment there everyone was after poor Hubert. I think he was lucky to get out of this one. 2y
Graywacke @batsy Shakespeare vibes - but, it‘s so frustrating here with these players. I‘m with the Bastard. 2y
Graywacke @merelybookish I was thinking Hubert sidestepped out of the line of fire here, not sure though. As for Constance…🤐 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie Yay for mind-calming Shakespeare. The Bastard may not share your response, but he is kind of charmingly angry. One of those three links came from you. Hope the other links were helpful. 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke definitely. Hubert was playing on a knife edge there, I think. 2y
batsy Thanks for the link to the plot summary; that one is written in such a way that I've managed to retain (some of) the info :) 2y
Lcsmcat I haven‘t found an online version yet, but for those with Broadway HD, the Stratford Canada production is excellent! 2y
Graywacke @batsy 🙂 it‘s just confusing - summary or no. 2y
Graywacke @Lcsmcat thanks! What is Broadway HD? 2y
Lcsmcat @Graywacke It‘s a streaming channel. We get it through Roku, but it may be available other ways. 2y
LitStephanie @Lcsmcat yes I laughed at the "never cheer until you know who's winning" mentality of the townspeople. So cynical! 2y
LitStephanie I loved this act, especially the Bastard's calm and cutting commentary. He is definitely my favorite character. 2y
Lcsmcat I found this on YouTube and it helps make the plot (and its deviations from history) make a lot more sense. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UaMMBtSff6Y 2y
35 likes28 comments
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Graywacke
King John | William Shakespeare
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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

Graywacke Apologies for the later post. Slept in a bit this morning. 2y
GingerAntics I enjoyed the little bit of family drama. It was almost like a Shakespearean soap opera. 2y
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Lcsmcat This seems like another one that would be great stages. I can just picture the Bastard mugging to the audience at the end of this act. 2y
vlwelser Monty Python would nail this. Totally. But it's amusing in its own right. 2y
merelybookish It felt good to be back in Shakespeare's hands! Lots of fun word play and juicy speeches. But quite a short act (and what looks like a short play). 2y
TheBookHippie I love the word play and I think watching this on stage would be a lot of fun! 2y
TheBookHippie @GingerAntics I agree!! I am really liking it! 2y
Graywacke @GingerAntics Shakespearean soap opera…😂 It‘s maybe a good fit for this whole play. 2y
Graywacke @Lcsmcat i think the Bastard would be a lot of fun to play. This would be fun on stage. Anything available online? 2y
Graywacke @vlwelser I kept thinking of the mom in Life if Brian… and the scene where Brian tells the Roman ruler his dad was a Roman named Rudus Maximus. 2y
Lcsmcat @Graywacke I haven‘t looked yet. My NYC kids were here all week so I was a bit distracted. But if I find a good one I‘ll post a link. (edited) 2y
Graywacke @merelybookish This is quite different from H8. I‘m down with short. 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 here‘s hoping 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie Glad we‘re all enjoying. And the word play is continuously good fun (when I can understand it) 2y
GingerAntics @TheBookHippie same! This would make a brilliant stage production! 2y
Graywacke @Lcsmcat enjoy your kids! 2y
Graywacke @GingerAntics 🧼 opera KJ 2y
Lcsmcat @Graywacke I did! They‘re on the train home now 🙁 but we hadn‘t seen them since the pandemic started, and it was a wonderful week. 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke I don‘t know if I can see Shakespeare as an opera, but then he wasn‘t really known for his music. 2y
jewright I will be running late this week. We‘re at Disney! 2y
batsy I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the first act. It being brief helped! 😆 The bastard is quite the character. He had some great lines and a charismatic actor would totally bring him alive. 2y
Graywacke @batsy i was surprised too. Act 2 is a little more “work”. 2y
LitStephanie @Graywacke totally agree this first act was easy to read and witty. The Bastard is so funny, and I loved how the play gets right into the plot with no preamble. 2y
LitStephanie I think it is interesting we have the humorous bastard story alongside the questions about the legitimacy of King John's own title. 2y
Graywacke @LitStephanie I think there is a wink there. The Signet intro suggests Arthur, John and Philip (Richard/Bastard) have spread between them the attributes of a king - so each is a sort of representative on an aspect of a good king. 2y
LitStephanie @Graywacke ooh, that is an intriguing idea! 2y
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Daisey
King John | William Shakespeare
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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

Graywacke Especially @batsy and @TheBookHippie - the completists! 🎖 2y
batsy @Graywacke @TheBookHippie Aww, thank you 😆 2y
TheBookHippie @batsy 🏆🏆 2y
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GingerAntics
King John | William Shakespeare
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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

GingerAntics Well, we certainly have some family drama going on in this one. 2y
merelybookish And it's short! 2y
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merelybookish
King John | William Shakespeare
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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

Graywacke perfect 🤣🤣 (that whole page is terrific) 2y
merelybookish @Graywacke Yes! Thought Cormac McCarthy was especially good. 🤣 2y
batsy Ahahaha! Yep. Also the Trollope one 😂 2y
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Vansa This is SO FUNNY. The entry for Scott Fitzgerald and the one for Harold Pinter, so spot on. My sides are literally hurting from laughing at this 😂Thanks for sharing! 2y
Graywacke @merelybookish McCarthy was perfect. (The Gaskell has a spoiler of the book I‘m reading ☹️…but it‘s still funny.) 2y
sarahbarnes 😂😂 These are so good!! 2y
merelybookish @batsy Yes, that one made me laugh too! 2y
merelybookish @Vansa I'm glad you enjoyed! The Pinter is pretty 🔥🔥🔥😂 2y
merelybookish @Graywacke Oh bummer. Didn't think of spoilers. 2y
merelybookish @sarahbarnes The Woolf is also pretty accurate! 2y
LitStephanie I actually don't get this article at all. Guess it is over my head. 2y
Centique Brilliant. DH Lawrence and Thomas Hardy made me cackle 🤣 2y
merelybookish @LitStephanie That's a-okay! 2y
merelybookish @Centique Yes, liked both but appreciated how pithy Hardy's description was. 😂 2y
sarahbarnes It really is pretty spot on! 😂 2y
Daisey Several of these made me laugh. Thanks for sharing! 2y
merelybookish @Daisey Glad you enjoyed! 2y
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Graywacke
King John | William Shakespeare
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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...

TheBookHippie Oh thanks! 2y
merelybookish I'm hoping we get to go out with a bit of a bang! 🤞 2y
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Lcsmcat There‘s room in this story for some real drama so 🤞🏻 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie you will have them all after this! 🙂 2y
Graywacke @merelybookish yes please! If the text will just cooperate 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke I‘m so excited because I‘m that nerdy… 🤣 2y
Graywacke @Lcsmcat there is. What a life King John had. 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie I‘m jealous of you! 😆 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke my only working reference to King John is Robin Hood. 🤣 2y
GingerAntics Fingers crossed this one is better than the last two. 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie 🤣🤣🤣 but… actually that‘s really cool. Robinhood was loyal to absent crusading King Richard and against usurping John. I didn‘t know that. By the time this play has kicked off, brothers Richard and John are reconciled and, I think, Richard is already dead. 2y
Graywacke @GingerAntics so…😁… I really liked H8. But, yes, 🤞 2y
GingerAntics @Graywacke I just didn‘t feel like it was really Shakespeare. If I hadn‘t been expecting Shakespeare, I may have liked it as well. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 2y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke ah yes- well, my son as a young child was enamored with the Disney RobinHood Cartoon movie and the rule in this house is to learn and know the real story as well as the fun Disney, so I learned all kinds of information I had no clue about! We also read several versions of Robin Hood. Was great fun. 2y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie ah, such a great rule. Love it! (edited) 2y
jewright I haven‘t read this one yet either. 2y
batsy Completists and bold souls! 😆 Love it. 2y
41 likes19 comments
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Graywacke
King John | William Shakespeare
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#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...

TheBookHippie Yay!!!! I‘m an OG ! I can‘t believe we‘ve done it! 3y
batsy Wow... Like @TheBookHippie I can't believe we've covered it all (almost!) 😁 3y
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GingerAntics I did the math and I know how to evenly distribute the sonnets over about 7 weeks if I remember correctly. I‘ll have to go check my notes again. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I can‘t believe you have made it all the way through, I skipped some here and there, but I‘m still impressed with how many new plays I have read with this group. I think I joined round Cymbeline….thank you all for the ride and great discussions. 3y
erzascarletbookgasm My first with this group was A Midsummer‘s Night Dream! I‘ve skipped a few and all the history plays (not a fan🙈). So glad I found this group, thanks all for the insightful and fun discussions. Thanks for hosting, hosts! 💜 I‘ll skip King John and visit the sonnets. 👌 3y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie @batsy you guys have done the whole path, every play? What a cool accomplishment. Kudos both! 3y
Graywacke @GingerAntics I‘m so all in. Sonnets! 3y
Graywacke @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @erzascarletbookgasm I‘m trying to remember my first… Macbeth? I think that was it. The first I hosted was Julias Caesar. Thanks for being such memorable parts of our atmosphere here. #shakespearereadalong rocks! 3y
TheBookHippie @Graywacke I want a certificate 🤣 the first year I won a mug. I treasure it! 3y
Graywacke @TheBookHippie wait, we gave stuff away? That‘s so cool. I want to see. Can you post a picture of your mug? 3y
batsy @Graywacke Yep, I remember when it first came about... I think Hannah (@readinginthedark) and @merelybookish floated the idea. I don't have my reading notebook to hand atm but I think we started with Hamlet? It's been so amazing and I've loved our journey 🙂 3y
merelybookish @batsy It was Hannah's idea I think. And @Jess_Read_This was involved. Our first play was Much Ado About Nothing. 3y
batsy @merelybookish Oh yes! Thank you for refreshing my memory. I looked back at my notebook just now and found Much Ado listed, with Hamlet being the next one. 3y
merelybookish @batsy Yes we really just hopped around from play to play. No real method. Whatever seemed good. Which is how we ended up with so many duds at the.end. 😆 Has it been 3 or 4 years? Or 5? 😳 3y
Graywacke @merelybookish i knew about @readinginthedark , but not @Jess_Read_This . That‘s amazing. Macbeth, my first, was Sep/Oct 2018, 3.5+ years ago. (Oh, and i still need to read Much Ado. And Cymbeline. I read Hamlet on my own once.) 3y
Graywacke @batsy I love that you have this all on a notebook. 🙂 3y
batsy @merelybookish We started with Much Ado in October of 2017! 😯 3y
batsy @Graywacke I used to keep a reading log and stopped, then started again. GR is one way of keeping a record but there's something particularly satisfying about rifling through a notebook 😁 3y
merelybookish @batsy Wow! Almost 5 years! Also impressed by the notebook. Also must confess, I skipped a few plays along the way. 3y
merelybookish @Graywacke Cymbeline is special! 3y
GingerAntics @Graywacke I have the schedule done. I just need to post it. lol 3y
GingerAntics @merelybookish @graywacke maybe for our next go around, we need a method. Shake them up a bit so we‘re not so disappointed at the end. lol 3y
31 likes23 comments
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TheatreSpaz
King John | William Shakespeare
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Mehso-so

I 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.

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TheatreSpaz
King John | William Shakespeare
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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 !

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Dogearedcopy
King John | William Shakespeare
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Pickpick

“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‘

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Dogearedcopy
King John | William Shakespeare
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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!

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Dogearedcopy
King John | William Shakespeare
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Pickpick

A 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... ⬇️

Dogearedcopy And while I wasn't expecting the 18th c. figure of Romanticism, Robin Hood, to appear, I was surprised that there wasn't a more intense antipathy from the people represented over the heavy taxation. Surely that would have gone over well with the audiences? Again, so very interesting and a decided Pick from me 🎭 6y
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Bradleygirl
King John | William Shakespeare
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John the #Bastard making a play to be cast as Tony Stark I cannot even
🤣
#shakespeare #historyplayschallenge

AvidReader25 I just read this one too. So much humor! 6y
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Bradleygirl
King John | William Shakespeare
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Falling problematically in love with John the #Bastard, brb
#shakespeare #historyplayschallenge

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Lcsmcat
King John | William Shakespeare
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GingerAntics I‘ve never read this play, but this is making me want to read it. 6y
Lcsmcat @GingerAntics It‘s one where I know the quote, but haven‘t read the play. 6y
GingerAntics lol oh okay...been there 6y
32 likes3 comments
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AvidReader25
King John | William Shakespeare
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Pickpick

Shakespeare 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)!”

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TotallyPretentious
King John | William Shakespeare
Mehso-so

This 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.

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cleoh
King John | William Shakespeare
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chilly mornings, warm tea, and Shakespeare 😍🎃👻💀🍁🍂💐

71 likes1 stack add
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JacintaMCarter
King John | William Shakespeare
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GinEyre22
King John | William Shakespeare
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#seductiveshakespeare Day 8: King John

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merelybookish
King John | William Shakespeare
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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

xicanti I hated this play, but I can't remember why. 7y
57 likes1 comment