Dating Shakespeare’s Plays: King John The Life and Death of King Iohn he earliest date for the known versions of [Q1 1591] The Troublesome Raigne of Iohn The Life and Death of King John( KJ) is King of England, with the discouerie of King probably the year of the second edition of Richard Cordelions Base sonne (vulgarly THolinshed (1587). The latest possible date is the named The Bastard Fawconbridge): also the death of King Iohn at Swinstead Abbey. As publication of the First Folio in 1623. it was (sundry times) publikely acted by the Queenes Maiesties Players, in the honourable Publication of The Troublesome Raigne Citie of London. (TR) [Q1 1591] The Second part of the troublesome Raigne of King Iohn, conteining the death of Arthur Plantaginet, the landing of Lewes, The Life and Death of King John( KJ) did not appear and the poysning of King Iohn at Swinstead until the First Folio in 1623. But a very similar Abbey. As it was (sundry times) publikely play called The Troublesome Raigne of Iohn King of acted by the Queenes Maiesties Players, in the England, (TR) had been published anonymously honourable Citie of London. The Second in two parts in 1591. The title pages of subsequent part of the troublesome Raigne of King editions of TR in 1611 and 1622 attributed the Iohn, containing the en-traunce of Lewes the play to ‘W Sh’ and to ‘W Shakespeare’ respectively. French Kings sonne: with the poysoning of Meres in 1598 mentions a play by Shakespeare King Iohn by a Monke. called King John. The relationship between the The mention of the Queen’s Men would suggest two plays has been the subject of much debate. a performance date c. 1584–9 when they were The general consensus is that Troublesome particularly active (according to Scott McMillin Raigne was not by Shakespeare but by another and Sally-Beth MacLean, The Queen’s Men and playwright and that Shakespeare, using this as their Plays, 1999). a source play, composed his own version of King The two parts of TR were published together John in 1595–96. It has been suggested that the in 1611 and attributed to ‘W. Sh’, which is usually reprints of TR were deliberately misattributed so taken to indicate William Shakespeare: as to boost sales in the same way as was done with Sir John Oldcastle or The London Prodigal. There [Q2 1611] The First and second Part of the have been some, e.g. Honigmann, who have not troublesome Raigne of John King of England. accepted this version and see KJ as the original . As they were (sundry times) lately acted play, thus pre-dating the publication of TR in by the Queenes Maiesties Players. Written by 1591. Others, e.g. Beaurline, see both KJ and TR W. Sh. Valentine Simmes for Iohn Helme as derived from the same pre-1591 outline plot . 1611. (scenario), whether or not such an outline had been prepared by Shakespeare. The two parts were published again in 1622, this The Troublesome Raignewas published time attributed to ‘W. Shakespeare’: anonymously in two parts, without being recorded [Q3 1622] The First and second Part of the in the Stationers’ Register: © De Vere Society 1 Dating Shakespeare’s Plays: King John Title pages to the anonymous first quartos of Troublesome Raigne of King John, Part I and Part 2, 1591. It has generally been believed that this play was by another author, but some scholars have argued that it was an early version by Shakespeare which he later revised. Part 2 By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library. troublesome Raigne of John King of England. According to Chambers, KJ in F1 is fairly well . As they were (sundry times) lately acted. printed, with normal, slight stage-directions. Written by W. Shakespeare. Aug. There are some variations in the speech prefixes. Mathewes for Thomas Dewe . 1622 Beaurline suggests that the misreadings and The bibliographical entries up to 1622 relate only inconsistencies derive from two different scribes to The Troublesome Raigne of King John,which using the author’s foul papers. One problem Chambers calls the source-play. concerns the fact that in F1, Actus Secundus has only 74 lines. Modern editors have found various ways to address this. Publication of The Life and Death of King John (KJ) Relationship of Troublesome Raigne to The absence of The Life and Death of King John King John (KJ) from the entries for F1 in the Stationers’ Register suggests that KJ (like Taming of the From the publication of Q2 in 1611 through Shrew) was regarded as ‘commercially identical later publications until 1764 at least, Troublesome with its predecessor’ i.e. that KJ is a revision by Raigne has been attributed to Shakespeare. Eric the same author of TR: Sams notes that TR (John King of England, both parts) was so attributed in ‘an exact and perfect [F1 1623] [Catalogue] The Life and Death of Catalogue of all the Plaies that were ever printed’ King John appended to Edward Archer’s 1656 edition of The © De Vere Society 2 Dating Shakespeare’s Plays: King John Old Law by Massinger and others. TR was again from it, again, almost scene for scene and attributed to Shakespeare in Francis Kirkman’s often speech for speech. All participants catalogues of 1661 and 1671, Gerard Langbaine’s in the debate agree that ‘the author who catalogue of 1691, Charles Gildon’s list in 1699, worked first from the chronicles undertook a massive reorganization of historical material’ the W. Mears catalogues of 1713, 1719 and (Smallwood, 367). 1726, and an edition of 1764 published by Robert Horsefield. Most modern commentators, Boyd argues that TR was not the source for KJ, however, have not accepted this attribution, and which is considered in section (c) below.2 treat TR as another playwright’s – concentrating 1 on the direction of influence. (a) Another playwright wrote Troublesome Since the two plays treat the same events Raigne, which Shakespeare revised as King very closely with only minor differences, a close John. relationship has been assumed between them. Chambers believes that another playwright The two parts ofTR amount to 3,081 lines, wrote TR, which Shakespeare “kept open in front whereas there are only 2715 in KJ. The first part of him” when revising it into KJ. The reprints of of TR consists of 1,840 lines (corresponding to TR were in this view deliberately misattributed 1,987 lines in KJ); the second part consists of so as to boost sales in much the same way as 1196 lines, (corresponding to only 728 lines in Sir John Oldcastle or The London Prodigal. Most KJ). The clearest point of comparison lies in the commentators follow Chambers. J. L. Simmons unhistorical Robert Falconbridge, who plays a expanded this view by showing that Shakespeare major part in both plays. There are also some very corrects the moral confusion of its predecessor close verbal parallels between the plays, e.g. while confirming its theme of the evils of usurpation and rebellion. Guy Hamel argues Then I demand Volquesson, Torain, Main, that the claim for the priority of TR is “so strong Poitiers and Anjou, these five provinces (TR 1 827–8; c.f. KJ 2.1.528–9) that it needs no further support”. The further support which he gives includes the development Brian Boyd has explained various theories as to of imagery in KJ. Beatrice Groves also developed the relationship between TR and KJ: this argument but discounted the claim that Shakespeare was working from an open text Is Shakespeare’s King John a source or a because the number of linguistic parallels is small. derivative of the anonymous The Troublesome Sir Brian Vickers has asserted that Robert Peele Raigne of King John (1591)? In 1989 “the wrote TR. ‘orthodox’ opinion that The Troublesome Raigne precedes King John” seemed to one (b) Shakespeare wrote both The Troublesome critic ‘now . so strong as to need no further Raigne (Q1, 1591) and King John (F1) elaboration or support.’ (Hamel). A year later, another made the best case yet for the The straightforward interpretation of the ‘unorthodox’ position that King John spawned contemporary evidence is that the playwright rather than sprang from The Troublesome composed TR and then revised it as KJ. E. M. W. Raigne. (Beaurline). Tillyard suggested that TR might turn out to be Everyone concurs that The Troublesome a ‘bad quarto’ of an early version of Shakespeare’s Raigne is intimately related to and manifestly play, i.e. that TR is early Shakespeare and inferior to King John, but there agreement presumably the author toned down the anti- ends. To some, a writer with the merest Catholic bias in TR when revising it as KJ. Thus fraction of Shakespeare’s talent could not have Meres was possibly alluding to TR when he followed King John almost scene for scene and often speech for speech and yet have mentioned a play by Shakespeare entitled King 3 repeatedly substituted his own awkward limp John. for the forceful stride Shakespeare’s language This view is now somewhat old-fashioned, has throughout this play. To others, a writer having been advanced (according to Sams) with so little talent would never have been by “Sims, Helme, Matthews, Dew, Archer, able to reshape Holinshed and other historical Kirkman, Langbaine, Gildon, Mears, Horsefield, sources so well that Shakespeare could work Pope, Theobald, Warburton, Capell, Steevens, © De Vere Society 3 Dating Shakespeare’s Plays: King John Coleridge, Tieck, Schlegel, Ulrici. .” This independent sources for KJ. The modern scholarly position has more recently been advocated by consensus is that Shakespeare studied the life Everitt.