THE STUDY <« HAKESPEARE'S 1VING I OHN King J Studies of the Historical Plays of Shakespeare BY H. A. DAVIDSON, M. A. 3Hp &tttig-(6ut6? Partes CAMBRIDGE, MASS. THE STUDY OF Shakespeare's King John Studies of the Historical Plays of Shakespeare, No. i BY H. A. DAVIDSON, M. A. MADISON, WISCONSIN JULY, 1908 •IU ESS | NOV 19 1908 ' I t/opiTijjni s.. r i'£".y j CLASS CU ;..". 15 The Purpose of the General Topics. 18 References for the Study of the Historical Plays of Shakespeare : Required Books 19 English History 19 Life and Times of Shakespeare 21 The Dramatic Art of Shakespeare 21 Theory of Dramatic Art 22 Supplementary Reading 23 The Reading of Criticism 23 Topics for Study: Section I. Preliminary 25 Section II. Act 1. The Difficulties of King John.. 28 Section III. Act 2. Plots and Counter Plots 31 Section IV. Act 3. The Papal Legate 31 Section V. Act 4. The Little Prince 35 Section VI. Act 5. The National Spirit 37 General Topics: Section VII. The Dramatis Personae 40 Section VIII. The Chronology and the Plot 41 Section IX. Shakespeare's Indebtedness to "The Troublesome Raigne" 43 The Study of the Historical Plays of Shakespeare H. A. DAVIDSON This guide for the study of Shakespeare's historical plays is arranged for practical ends. No attempt has been made to specialize the study in any one direction. The aim is rather to secure intelligent reading and thorough familiarity with the text of the plays and at the same time to aid effectively in the study of the drama as a form of literary art. The objects which have determined the selection and ar- rangement of topics for study may be summarized as follows: It is intended to aid students, first, in reading with close attention, and in retaining, from scene to scene, the dramatic significance of all that has preceded, that, as the plot develops it may carry the imagination steadily forward to those com- plex crises of dramatic action in which many conflicting mo- tives mingle. Secondly, to aid in understanding the dramatic relation and significance of plot and 'counter-plot, of mingling tendencies and forces. Thirdly, to aid readers in catching, in each scene and act the true significance of the characters that carry the action. In the dramas of Shakespeare interest always centers in the action. Scenes are not arranged for the purpose of presenting characters, but 'characters are never mere lay figures brought together for the purpose of acting. Words and acts spring profoundly and intimately from what the persons are; acts seem to reveal depths and complexities of human nature such that the qualities of men and women predetermine events. Fourthly, the topics for study are arranged for the purpose of leading students indirectly, but effectively, to an under- standing of the principles of dramatic art as manifest in the writing and arrangement of plays. Fifthly, little emphasis has been placed, in topics for study, upon reference work. A few books of reference have been sug- gested in the bibliography; these should be used constantly as aids, whenever the reader's familiarity with the vocabulary, syntax, or widely varied illustrative material in use in Shakes- peare's day is insufficient for clear and full apprehension of the dramatist's meaning. A limited vocabulary, or unfamiliar- ity with the literary conceits and phrases of the Elizabethan period might easily deprive the reader of a just understanding of the text and, certainly, of appreciation of the rich play of fancy, the ready wit, and the glancing intelligence of the master mind of the period. The study of the language and the literary qualities of Shakespeare's text as an end, should be reserved for the class-room, or the seminar, in connection with an adequate library and under competent guidance. Sixthly, no adequate study of the sources of Shakespeare's plays is possible apart from the resources of libraries. Such references to sources as are found in this Study-Guide are lim- ited in scope and intended only for the illustration of the dramatist's skill and method in adapting old material so that, in the result, the borrowed parts assume new and more sig- nificant meanings and contribute to a whole of high dramatic value. This topic, when pursued as an end by students of competent training and scholarship, is rich in the reward it offers. The Arden edition of the text suggested for use, contains the material for an elementary study of Shakespeare's rythm and lines. Further study of this topic is left to the initiative of individual students, or the guidance of instructors. Many subjects of special study, not touched upon in this guide, will suggest themselves to Shakespearean scholars, but they do not fall within the scope and purpose of this little book. For the most part, also, such subjects are profitable only for advanced students who need no other guide than the purpose in hand, and who are abundantly able to avail themselves of the ripe scholarship of those who have given years to the special topic that claims their interest. It remains to say a word of apology for the mingling of the study of English history with the study of Shakespeare's plays. In a narrow sense, the student of the historical plays of Shakes- peare has no concern with the period of English history in which the events of the play belong. He asks from what source Shakespeare drew his material and, when he has found the chronicle, or the earlier play, used by the dramatist, he directs his attention to the discovery of the selection and adaptation by which the new play was arranged. The Shakespearean scholar is, theoretically, impregnable in his position that we should inquire only for the contemporary historical source of f/ ? 8 the characters and events used by the dramatist as the basis of the scenes and acts he imagined. In practice, this is usu- ally interpreted narrowly and, as a result, attention is cen- tered upon the Chronicle, or 'Lives,' or earlier play, from which the dramatist borrowed. This examination fails to re- veal a most important element in Shakespeare's work, one, in truth, of greater significance than any single source of con- versations, or scenes, or stage arrangement. Into his adapta- tions of old chronicle-plays or histories, Shakespeare infused something derived frbm no one of them, — a new relation of parts, a deeper understanding of political events, an interpre- tation of history as he knew it, that seems almost prophetic. To the question of how he came upon this wide comprehension of the meaning and trend of events extending over several generations, it is an easy answer to suggest the genius' of the greatest dramatist the world has known, but a closer analysis shows that Shakespeare's special gifts lay, first, in his exceed- ing readiness and versatility in absorbing phases of the life, belief, and knowledge of his own generation; secondly, in his power of intellectual detachment from his own experiences so that he both shared the emotions and experiences of his fellow men, and also compared, related, and judged; and thirdly, in such gifts of mind or temperament that he unconsciously grasped the fundamental and permanent principles of drama- tic art. The first of these qualities made him the great ex- ponent of the minds and passions of all men in all ages; the second made him a practical student of political and historical events, and enabled him to interpret their meaning; the third, his supreme gift as a dramatist, enabled him to present the 9 rich fruitage of his mental activity in an art-form of perma- nent and living vitality. The result is that in his interpreta- tion of history, in his understanding of men, or of times, Shakespeare often outruns his own historical knowledge. In King Richard Second, for instance, he seizes upon the great transitions taking place in that age and by a stroke of genius he relates them, both to the theories and practices of royal pre- rogative in the reigns of the Plantaganet kings of England, and to the rise of those forces that, long after, in the reigns of Henry VIII. and of Elizabeth, brought forth the new England of modern times. Of all this, the student of Holinshed's Chronicle or of The Troublesome Raigne, or of Marlowe's Edward Second, learns little; but if, presently, he turn to modern histories and, by means of the best, inquires what the underground forces were that shaped the destinies of the English people between the time of King John and that of Richard Second, he will find later, on comparison, that Shakespeare has included in his play almost every one. The demands of the laborers, the far reaching results of the Black Death, the changes in industry, the rise of a commercial class, the passing of the power of the armed knight and the decay of the walled town, the new demands of the Commons, the attitude of the church, are all touched upon. To the careful student of history, the play seems to embody the 'complex elements of unrest that marked the age, while Richard and Hereford respectively stand for the earlier and the later conceptions of kingship in England. The critic and the historian seem to be writing from essen- tially similar points of view when Professor Hereford speaks 10 of "the political problem of the history, — that struggle be- tween legitimacy and aptitude which the nation so rapidly settled in favor of the latter," as the key note of the situation in the play, and the historian, Bishop Stubbs, in his discussion of the causes of Richard's downfall, uses these words, "Henry IV. coming to the throne as he did, made the validity of a parliamentary title indispensable to royalty; and Richard II., in vacating the throne, withdrew the theory, on whicb he had tried to act and by which he had been wrecked, of the supremacy of prerogative." i Shakespeare was familiar with the administration of af- fairs and the relation of classes in the age of Elizabeth and drew, at any moment, unconsciously, upon a fund of knowledge which could be paralleled in our time only by most thorough and painstaking study of the history, ideas, and political events of the age in which he lived. In a day when scenic presentation was a chief means of communicating ideas and information passed from group to group by word of mouth, it seems probable that the public may have been more familiar with the important events of national history than in the present age of many books. This common fund of knowledge, familiarly held in mind, Shakespeare counted upon in his au- dience, and it is precisely this background for the apprecia- tion and enjoyment of the historical plays that the modern reader lacks. It seems certain, then, that such a study of his- tory as will in a measure provide a substitute for this vital, sub-conscious familiarity of the men and women who first saw these plays with the present and the traditional past of their 1 Sec. 269, chap, xvi., v. 2, Stubbs', Constitutional History of Eng- land. 11 own age, must contribute much to a better understanding of tLe dramas. It is also frankly admitted that this guide is intended to serve a double purpose. Shakespeare's profound insight and his gift of interpretation suggest the wisdom of combining the study of his dramas with study of the history and times of which he wrote. For readers who seek culture anS a better understanding of history and of literature, rather than special scholarship, the study, pari-passu, of literature and of the ages of which it is the most intimate, often the most reliable expression, is an incomparable means of attainment. THE STUDY OF THE DRAMA Aristotle defines tragedy as "an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude." The defini- tion, with modifications, will serve for other plays than trage- dies. A drama must present an imitation of an action which is complete, well arranged, and of purport calculated to im- press or interest. Aristotle's definitions are, historically, the sources from which our theories of dramatic art have been derived, and there is still no better beginning of study of the form and structure of the drama than parts of the Poetics. The following definitions, briefly quoted from Butcher's trans- lation, are fundamental in an understanding of the principles of dramatic sequence and unity of action: "A beginning is that which does not itself follow any thing by causal necessity, but after which something is or naturally comes to be. An end, on the contrary, is that which itself naturally follows some other thing, either by necessity or in 12 the regular course of events, but has nothing following it. A middle is that which follows something as some other thing follows it. A well constructed plot, therefore, must neither begin nor end at haphazard, but conform to the type here described." * * * * * * "The plot being an imitation of an action, must imitate one action and that a whole, the structural union of the parts being such that, if any one of them is displaced or removed, the whole will be disjointed and disturbed. For that which may be present or absent without being perceived, is not an organic part of the whole." The following suggestions are designed for the women of study clubs, readers, and isolated students who seek aid in critical study. Students working in classes with an instruc- tor and having access to discussions of dramatic art should follow other methods, or use these suggestions as an adjunct to broader and more analytic work. After the preliminary study indicated for each play: I. For each act, fix firmly in mind the leading characters and note for each, — a. Name and relationship. b. Leading facts in the life of the person, if historical, antecedent to the beginning of the play. c. Character and role among comrades, antecedent to the beginning of the play. Note. — The reader should become so familiar with these before enter- ing on the study of the act that, in answer to the calling of names, she can make ready response with brief descriptions and character sketches. II. At the beginning of each act, fix firmly in the mind 13 time and place, and for every act after the first, notice the time interval between the close of the previous act and the beginning of the next; ask (a) What is supposed to have oc- curred in this interval? (b) How is this interval managed, or accounted for, in the setting, or acting of the play? III. At the conclusion of the reading or study of each act make a plot outline which will show, — a. By scenes, the purpose of each. b. The main purpose or subject of the act, as a division of the play. c. The beginning of the plot, if the act is the first; in later acts, the situation which serves as beginning of the act. d. The relation of each scene, in order, to the main pur- pose, or plot of the act; that is, the part, or step in the plot of the act fulfilled by the scene. e. In each act, the most significant moment, correspond- ing in a general way to climax in the play. f. The conclusion of the act. g. The thread's of interest, or unfinished sequelae, at the conclusion of the act; these will be clues to follow, and a main source of interest in succeeding acts. The development of the unfinished sequelae will also be a test of the unity of the play and reveal the skill of the dramatist. Note. — The "Topics for Study" for each act will guide to the selec- tion of the true plot sequence, and the "General Topics" are arranged to give a similar summary and critical estimate for the play as a Whole. The following brief statement of the theoretical organiza- tion of tragic drama is not intended to take the place of books 14 on this subject, or as a guide for special students. For readers who have no books on the theory of dramatic art, it will be an aid. Historical plays are not necessarily organized in the form of the tragic drama, but this type has so manifestly in- fluenced the form and arrangement of all plays that the un- derstanding of it is essential for study of dramatic structure in any of its varied forms. In the theoretical drama it is supposed: I. That in act 1 we should find an introduction to the main group of the dramatis personae, including the central figure or hero; a clear indication of essential facts such as time, place, and antecedent events necessary for understanding pres- ent action; the beginning of the plot, or dramatic action, and an indication of the problem, including some hint of every element working in this main plot toward an end. II. That in act 2 the counter-plot should develop; that is, complications, difficulties, and dangers impending to thwart the action initiated in act 1 should be fully indicated, together with the dramatis personae among whom they originate. III. That in act 3 we should have the bringing together of these two groups of persons, of these opposing plots, and a struggle of forces, not apparently decisive, but indicating with certainty to all except the participants the final result. Note. — In a five-act tragedy, the climax is usually in the third act. It is not difficult to give a theoretical definition of the 1 climax hut the determination of the climax, or moment of finality, in a given action is often puzzling. Climax may be tested by the question whether every element of determining force in the result has yet come into full play ; for, if new elements are still to enter, then the issue Is not yet fully joined, — a moment still more doubtful may arrive, or reversal may take place; but if determining elements have not yet become effective, then the issue still hangs in the balance, and the 15 action has not yet come to a true climax. The term climax is often used for the dramatic scene in which the final issue is joined, for the moments of intense suspense preceding the arbitration of fate, hut the true climax lies in the brief space of time that marks the final turning ; before that breathless instant, diminishing effort still rests upon some unexhausted source of hope*; after it, though bat- tle rages and counter-plots arise, the end is sure, and when it comes, one looking back sees in what moment it was written down in the book of fate and realizes that since that time action has been no more than the subsidence of expended forces, the after results flowing from decisive acts or incidents. IV. In act 4 the dramatis personae, often unaware, them- selves, that the decision of fate has been reached, take heart of courage to renew the struggle. The on-looker, although he has understood the trend of events more clearly than those who take part in them, must still be almost persuaded when he sees the reviving courage and strength of the protagonists that they have yet a fighting chance. Upon this act depends, in great part, the high character of the tragedy in the end. The braver the effort, the more unsubdued the spirit, the bet- ter the muster against fate, the more pitiful the downfall which reveals the overwhelming odds, the predetermined event, the irremediable ruin. V. The final act of the tragic drama returns, from its first moment, to the expectation of catastrophe with which the third act closed and is, in reality, the bringing to view of the ruin then wrought, in all its results. NOTE-BOOK WORK In the study of the drama the note-book is for the purpose of preserving for constant use outlines, tables, and references. Information found in books should be cross-referenced in the text of the plays, but collections of facts' gathered from many 16 sources are more accessible and useful when organized in the form of brief outlines in note-books. The editor of the Arden edition of King John has included a most useful leaf from his own note-book, p. 143. — Chronicle of the Reign of King John. To be useful, the note-book must be paged, and cross refer- ences to it placed in the text. Note-book work of a more ex- tended kind should be required of students working in classes with the aid of special libraries and instruction. A. PRELIMINARY TOPICS I. A list of the Norman and Plantagenet Kings of England, with dates of reigns. II. Geneological tables arranged as in Green's Shorter History of England. a. Showing the descent of the Kings of England, from William I., to Henry IV. b. Of the family of Henry II., showing children, mar- riages, and descendants, as far as necessary, for the dramatis personae of these plays. c. Of the family of Edward III., in the same way. d. Of the family of John of Gaunt, showing the chil- ren of Blanche of Lancaster, and also the children of Katharine Swynford; that is, the family of the Beauforts. III. Preliminary to the study of King Richard Second, make a chronicle of the important events of his reign simi- lar to the one given in the Arden edition for the reign of John. 17 IV. Biographical notes of characters: These are for historical characters found among the dr&> matis personae and are a means of securing that familiar acquaintance with them as individuals which is ess'ential to imaginative reading of the drama. V. In the text of King John, mark in each act all passages which show the indebtedness of Shakespeare to the earlier play, The Troublesome Raigne of King John. This will be preparation for the topics of Section IX, p. 43. B. TOPICS FOR THE STUDY OF THE PLAY I. Keep, by acts, from stage directions, notes, etc., a time analysis, and statement of place, etc., for each act of each play. This may be kept in the text by noting at the begin- ning of each act: a. The date of the beginning, or the interval since the last act closed. b. The time of the act, as far as given. c. The place where the scenes are supposed to be. For instance, Richard Second, act 1. Time, April i;8, 1398; place, Richard's palace, Windsor. II. Cross-referencing and annotating: Essential facts which should be borne in mind may be added by note or reference, in the text; for instance, act 1, Richard Second, note in the margin for name of John of Gaunt born in 1340; note for King Richard, aet. 31 years, etc. When- ever an item is found by searching, a reference to book and page should be added in the text, even if it be to the notes of the edition in use. 18 THE PURPOSE OP THE GENERAL TOPICS. The general topics for the study of the historical plays of Shakespeare have a double object. They are intended as a summary and review of the detailed study just con- cluded, and they should serve to emphasize the relation of parts, and give a broad view of the dramatic significance, power and charm of the play. Topics for these purposes will be found under "A." Critical study must derive its value from intimate knowl- edge of detail and close study of parts, but unless, after a time, the fragmentary results of such study are used in pur- suit of some definite end as the basis of comparison, infer- ence, conclusion, the student is little advanced intellectually, by all his toil. The second division of general topics is added for the use of students and classes having access to special libraries and time for extended and critical study. These topics are suitable either for written papers or for brief discussions in which carefully organized material gath- ered from previous reading and study is used as data. Topics requiring special library facilities may be omitted when these are lacking, or when the study of King John is under- taken in clubs for purposes of general culture. The topics suggested for critical study do not include even a small part of the many interesting subjects suggested by each one of Shakespeare's plays. A few have been selected which seem especially pertinent and fruitful. Others, it is hoped, may appear in later editions of The Study of Shakes- peare's King John; such are, The stage presentation of the play is* in Shakespeare's time, Shakespeare's usage in verse, rime, etc., Study of the literary qualities of Shakespeare's plays in re- lation to the conceits, forms of expression, etc., of the age of Elizabeth. Topics for critical study of the dramatist's work as author, stage manager, etc., for study of the sources of his play, and for advanced study of the drama of Shakespeare in its great qualities have not been included; such study is, in its nature, comparative, and should be undertaken only after careful study of a considerable number of plays. REFERENCES FOR THE STUDY OF THE HISTORICAL PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE* REQUIRED BOOKS FOR THE; STUDY OF KING JOHN Shakespeare, W. King John. Arden edition. Heath, 25c. The Arden edition is chosen because the notes and intro- ductions give especial attention to plot and dramatic arrange- ment. Wendell, B. William Shakespeare. Scribner, $1.75. Warner, B. E. English History in Shakespeare's Plays. Longmans, $1.75. BOOKS FOR THE LIBRARY ENGLISH HISTORY Norgate, K. John Lackland. (Heroes of the Nations) Put- nam, $1.50. Stubbs, W. The Early Plantagenets. (Epochs of History) Scribner, $1. *Prices quoted are list prices. Libraries secure the usual dis- counts on these prices, and individuals can sometimes obtain reduc- tion. Books not available through regular dealers are marked Out of priMt. These may be found in the public 'library, or may be picked up second hand. 20 Green, Mrs. J. R. Henry the Second. (Twelve English Statesmen) Macmillan, 75c. Maurice, C. E. Stephen Langton. (English Popular Leaders) King, 7s. 6d. (Out of print.) Bateson, M. Medieval England. (Story of the Nations) Putnam, $1.35. Gairdner, J. & Spedding, J. Studies in English History. Douglas, 12s. (Out of print.) For the chapters on the Lollards. Bright, J. F. English History, v. 1. Longmans, $1.50. Green, Mrs. J. R. English Towns in the Fifteenth Century. 2v. Macmillan, $5. Trevelyan, G. M. England in the Age of Wycliffe. Long- mans, $4. Wylie, J. H. English History under Henry the Fourth. 4v. Longmans, $20. For the trial and deposition of Richard II. Pearson, C. H. History of England During the Early and Middle Ages. 2v. Bell, 30s. (Out of print.) Stubbs, W. Constitutional History of England. 3v. Long- mans, each $2.60. Ramsay, J. H. The Angevin Empire. Macmillan, $3.25. Gairdner, J. The Houses of Lancaster and York. (Epochs of History) Scribner, $1. Oman, C. W. C. Warwick, the Kingmaker. (English Men of Action) Macmillan, 75c. Stone, W. G. B. Shakespeare's Holinshed. Longmans, $5. (Out of print.) Hall, H. Court Life under the Plantagenets. Dutton, $2.50. Cutts, E. L. Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages. Virtue, 15s. (Out of print.) Gardiner, S. R. Atlas of English History. Longmans, $1.50. A good wall map of England. W. & A. K. Johnson's is the best and may now Be "Obtained in this country for a moderate price. Traill, H. D. & Mann, J. S. ed. Social England. 6v. Put- nam, each $5. 21 LIFE AND TIMES OF SHAKESPEARE Lee, S. Life of Shakespeare. Macmillan, $1.75. Raleigh, W. A. Shakespeare (English Men of Letters.) Macmillan, 75c. Brandes, G. William Shakespeare, a Critical Study. Mac- millan, $2.60. Wendell, B. William Shakespeare. Scribners, $1.75. Mabie, H. W. William Shakespeare, Poet, Dramatist and Man. Macmillan, $2. Bagehot, W. Shakespeare, the Man. McClure, 50c. Ward, H. S. & C. Shakespeare's Town and Times. Lane, $3. Ordish, T. P. Shakespeare's London. Macmillan, $1.25. Stephenson, H. T. Shakespeare's London. Holt, $2. Winter, W. Shakepeare's England. Macmillan, 75c. Hales, J. W. The Age of Shakespeare. Macmillan. Warner, C. D. The People for Whom Shakespeare Wrote. Harper, $1.25. Creighton, M. Queen Elizabeth. (Epochs of History) Scribner, $1. Wheatley, H. B. The Story of London. (Mediaeval Towns) Macmillan, $1.75. One of the best books on London at the time of the his- torical events represented in these plays. Hall, H. Society in the Elizabethan Age. Ed. 3. Dutton, $2.50. Ordish, T. P. Early London Theaters. Macmillan, $2. Morley, H. English Writers, v. 10. Cassell, $1.50. Lee, S. Stratford-on-Avon. New illus. ed. Lippincott, $1.50. THE DRAMATIC ART OF SHAKESPEARE Lounsbury, T. R. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. Scrib- ner, $3. Moulton, R. G. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. Ed. 3. Clarendon Press, $1.90. Bradley, A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy. Macmillan, $3.25. Brink, B. T. Five Lectures on Shakespeare. Holt, $1.25. 22 Coleridge, S. T. Lectures on Shakespeare. (Bonn's Stan- dard Library.) Macmillan, $1. TJlriei, H. A. Shakespeare's Dramatic art. 2 v. Macmillan, each $2. Smith, D. N. Eighteenth Century Essayists on Shakespeare. Macmillan, $3. Contains Morgann's essay on the dramatic character of Sir John Falstaff. Snider, D. J. Shakespeare's Histories. Sigma Pub. Co., $1.50. Corson, H. An Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare. Heath, $1. Hazlitt, W. Lectures on the Age of Elizabeth and Charac- ters of Shakespeare's Plays. (Bonn's Standard Li- brary) Macmillan, $1. Hudson, H. N. Shakespeare, his Life, Art, and Characters. 2v. Ginn, $4. Baker, G. P. The Development of Shakespeare as a Drama- tist. Macmillan, $1.50. Warner, B. E. Famous Introductions to Shakespeare's Plays. Dodd, $2.50. THEORY OF DRAMATIC ART Schelling, F. The English Chronicle Play. Macmillan, $2. Freytag, G. The Technique of the Drama. Scott, $1.50. Price, W. T. The Technique of the Drama. Brentano, $1.50. Hennequin, A. The Art of Play Writing. Houghton, $1.25. Butcher, S. H. Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art with a Critical Text and Translation of the Poetics. Ed. 3. Macmillan, $4. For advanced students. REFERENCE BOOKS Clarke. M. C. & C. C. The Shakespeare Key. Scribner, $7.50. Bartlett, J. Concordance to Shakespeare. Macmillan, $1.50. Abbott, E. A. Shakespearean Grammar. New ed. Mac- millan, $1.50. Schmidt, A. Shakespeare Lexicon. 2v. Lemcke, $8. Dowden, E. Introduction to Shakespeare. Scribner, 75c. 23 Fleming, W. H. How to Study Shakespeare. 4v. Double- day, each $1. Corson, H. Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare. Heath, $1. Dyer, T. F. T. Folk-lore of Shakespeare. Harper, $2.50. Barnard, F. P. Companion to English History in the Middle Ages. Clarendon Press, $2.90. Oman, C. The Art of War in the Middle Ages. Putnam, $4.50. SUPPLEMENTARY READING Clarke, M. C. The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines. Scribner, $3. Rolfe, W. J. Shakespeare the Boy. Harper, $1.25. Black, C. W. Judith Shakespeare. Harper, $1.25. Bennet, J. Master Skylark. Century, $1.50. Abbey, E. A. Illustrations of Shakespeare's Richard Second. Harper's Magazine, v. 106, p. 505-511. (March, 1902.) Abbey, E. A. Illustrations of Shakespeare's King John. Harper's Magazine, v. 106, p. 505-511. (March, 1902.) Hewlett, M. Richard Yea-and-Nay. Macmillan, $1.50. Scott, W. Ivanhoe. Any good edition. For the character of King John. Jameson, A. B. Characteristics of Women. Houghton, $1.25. Lamb, C. & M. Tales from Shakespeare. Macmillan, $1. Marlowe, C. Edward Second. (Temple Dramatists.) Mac- millan, $4. Note: — This play is easily found. Its importance lies in the fact that Marlowe was the first to adapt the material found in chronicles, history-plays, etc., to the form of dramatic art. This play, probably produced in 1590, seems to be the model from which Sshakepeare first learned his own greater art. THE READING OF CRITICISM Students are earnestly requested not to read discussions of the plot or structure of these plays or of the characters In them, until the conclusion of the work suggested in Topics 24 for Study. After the student has become familiar with the text of the play and has by study and comparison defined her own impressions of characters or plot, the reading of critical essays will suggest other opinions for comparison with those gained at first hand from the text. The reading of discussions of literature of which one is ignorant makes little impression on the mind, and succeeding opinions, if different, displace those first read, since the reader has no reliable means of judging between them. 25 THE STUDY OF SHAKESPEARE'S KING JOHN TOPICS FOR STUDY SECTION I. PRELIMINARY TOPICS 1. Make in the note book, or on the fly leaf of Shakespeare's text, a list of the kings of England from William I. to James I., showing dates of reigns, and groups. In this table, underline heavily each king made the subject of a drama by Shakespeare. 2. Make a genealogical table showing the descent of John from William the Conqueror, and his relationship to the other descendants of William I. 3. Which claim to the throne of England was the better, John's, or Arthur's? Why? Why did John succeed in maintaining his claim? Was the blood of the Saxon royal family represented in any degree in John? 4. What were the race characteristics of the Plantagenet kings of England? How did they differ in character from the Norman kings? 26 How did their rule over England differ from the Norman rule? Note: — Henry II. may be called the greatest of the Plantagenets. Their characteristics and activity are described in Mrs. J. R. Green's Henry the Second. Of him, his secretary wrote, "Solomon saith there be three things difficult to be found out, and a fourth which may hardly be discovered; the way of an eagle in the air, the way of a ship in the sea; the way of a serpent on the ground; and the way of a man in his youth. I can add a fifth : the way of the king in England." 5. "What had been John's personal relations with his father, Henry the Second? 6. With his brother, Richard? 7. With Philip, King of France? Note.— In Hewlett's Richard Yea and Nay and in Scott's novels will be found descriptions of the personal relations of these men, not always accurate in historical detail, but essentially correct in spirit. SECTION II. THE DIFFICULTIES ACT I 1 8. What is the time, and where is the place of the open- J ing scene of King John? %. In what part of act 1 lies the beginning of the dra- matic action, or plot, of the play? 10. How many essential steps in this beginning? 11. What had been John's inheritance at his coronation? From whom had each part of this inheritance come? 12. What parts of John's inheritance did Arthur claim? On what ground? 13. Show by genealogical tree the basis of Arthur's claim to the English crown. ~~M3ee section ix, p. 1, for suggestion for marking in the text Shakes- peare's indebtedness, to The Troublesome Badgne. 27 14. Why did the French king espouse Arthur's cause? 15. Why did Elinor take John's part rather than Arthur's? 16. Did John think Arthur's claim better than his own, or on what ground did he fear him? Enter the Bastard: 17. What is the purpose in act 1 of the scene in which Robert and Philip Faulconbridge play parts? 18. In what ways is the Bastard identified with Richard 'Cordelion'? 1©. What are the personal qualities and characteristics of the Bastard, as shown in this act? 20. What was the Bastard's philosophy of life? On what did he depend for success? 21. What are the relations of the Bastard with other char- acters? What role does he seem likely to play in the drama? 22. Compare Philip Faulconbridge with King John in such a way as to show which of the two characters Shakes- peare wished to be the central figure on the stage in this act? 23. According to indications in act 1, what is to be the real subject of the play, the key to the dramatic action? 24. What indications of John's character are to be found in act 1? 25. What seems to be John's purpose and part in the ac- tion beginning in act 1? 26. What knowledge of antecedent events is necessary for the understanding of act 1? 28 27. On page 143, Arden edition of King John, is a chron- icle, in outline, of the reign of John, and a discus- sion of the chronology of the play will be found on pp. x. — xviii. a. In this outline, star the time of the opening scene in the play and, by comparison with act 1, note every introduction of facts antecedent to this date, and every historical reference. b. For each antecedent faiet or reference, show (1) on what excuse it is introduced, and (2) for what reason the knowledge of it was necessary, just at this point, to the dramatist's purpose. Note. — The resources of the dramatist for conveying to the audience informatoin about persons, or antecedent history, or knowledge of con- temporary action not co-incident with that upon the stage, is extremely limited. The novelist may fill many pages, at intervals in the narra- tive, with this sort of material, — a privilege often abused); but the dramatist must seek excuses which would be plausible in the rapid transitions of action or conversation transpiring in the mixed company upon the boards. The old device of "asides" addressed to an invisible confidant, and supposed to be inaudible to the company of which the speaker forms a part, has been practically discarded as unworthy of the skillful dramatist. SECTION III. PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT ACT 2 28. How long after the close of act 1 is the opening of act 2? Where and when does act 2 open? 29. In the age of John, how long a time in reality, was necessary to transport the king and his army from England to Angiers? Note. — See Traill & Mann Social England, v. 1, Oman's Art of W