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King John Theme of Family

Family relationships are always messy in Shakespeare's plays, especially when royal families are involved. And by "messy," we don't just mean complicated; we mean they're bloody, too. In King John, an uncle wants to snuff out his nephew, mothers are accused of giving birth to "bastard" children, and two brothers squabble over land. Dang. Why all the family drama?

Basically, it boils down to the issue of family inheritance, or who gets what when a father dies. In Shakespeare's day, a man's titles, wealth, and land passed down to his oldest son. That means daughters, younger sons, and illegitimate kids got shafted.

But what happens if a man's oldest son is dead? What happens if a man's oldest son turns out to be the biological child of another man? These kinds of inheritance problems were a huge concern for Shakespeare. In King John, the issue gets played out in two story lines: 1) King John and Arthur fight over the crown because nobody can agree about which one of King Henry II's descendants should have inherited the throne; and 2) the Falconbridge brothers get into an ugly legal battle over who should inherit their dead dad's land.

Questions About Family

  1. Why do some people think Arthur has a better claim to the throne than John?
  2. What's the dispute between the Falconbridge brothers in Act 1, Scene 1 all about? How is it resolved? How does the Falconbridge fight relate to King John's and Arthur's competing claims for the throne?
  3. Why do you think Constance and Eleanor are always accusing each other of having "bastard" children?
  4. Why does John want his nephew dead?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

King John and Arthur can't make any good decisions without the help of their mothers. Once Shakespeare kills off Eleanor and Constance, things go downhill pretty quickly for their sons.

Philip the Bastard is a living, breathing reminder that Shakespeare's play is interested in the complicated issue of inheritance.