History Theatre / KingJohn

* MamaBear: Two, actually: Queen Elinor, mother to King John, and Constance, mother to Arthur Plantagent.

* [[AntiHero Anti-Hero]]: John; see the anti-hero [[AntiHero trope page]] for more info.

* HaveAGayOldTime: A character is called a cracker, centuries before it became a racial epithet. (Though in fact, it's probably the exact same meaning, coming from the common root in Northern England and Scotland and meaning boastful bragging and joshing. It survives in Ireland with the - actually quite recent - Hibernicized spelling "craic", and travelled to America with the "Scots-Irish" settlers.)

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Arthur Plantagenet, a young boy of eight in the play; actually 16 during the historical events.

* KillTheCutie: Arthur's death definitely qualifies.

It is one of Shakespeare's two plays to be written entirely in verse; the other is ''Theatre/RichardII''.

Though today one of Shakespeare's more obscure plays, and generally considered one of his lesser works by those who ''do'' know of it, ''King John'' was one of his most popular plays in the nineteenth century. It has been staged on Broadway four times -- but not once in the last century.

It is one of Shakespeare's two plays to be written entirely in blank verse; the other is ''Theatre/RichardII''.

* PopculturalOsmosis: The phrase "gild the lily" -- a misquote of a line from this play -- is far, far, ''far'' more popular than the play itself, which today is one of Shakespeare's most obscure.

* OffWithHisHead: Austria is beheaded by The Bastard for his part in killing King Richard I, The Bastard's father.

* HistoricalDowngrade: William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, renowned then and now as possibly the greatest Knight who ever lived, is here a bit character indistinguishable from most of the other nobles in the play. Neither his [[MyMasterRightOrWrong steadfast loyalty to John]] or his skill at arms are demonstrated at all in this play, nor is his pivotal role in the events depicted. Of course, at the time Marshal was a rather obscure figure, since the main chronicle detailing his life wasn't widely known until the 19th century.

Though today one of Shakespeare's more obscure plays, and generally considered one of his lesser works by those who ''do'' know of it, ''King John'' was one of his most popular plays in the nineteenth century. It has been staged on Broadway four times - but not once in the last century.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Constance]] is implied to have committed suicide offstage. Whether or not [[spoiler:Arthur's]] death was also deliberate on his part is left ambiguous.

* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler: Arthur's]] death definitely qualifies.

* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: Subverted, [[spoiler: In his somewhat suicidal attempt to escape from the castle, Arthur is killed when he falls from the wall.]]
* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler: Austria is beheaded by The Bastard for his part in killing King Richard I, The Bastard's father.]]

* HaveAGayOldTime: A character is called a cracker, centuries before it became a racial epithet.

* TheOphelia: Subverted. Similar to Ophelia (but preceding her, as ''{{Theater/Hamlet}}'' wouldn't be written yet for another year or two), Constance suffers the loss of her family, in this case, her little son, Arthur, and everyone around her says she is mad. But Constance herself sharply rebukes that she is still completely sane, that if she was mad, she wouldn't feel each grief as keenly as she does.

* TwiceToldTale: TropeNamer:
-->''Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale\\
Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man.''
** In another way, ''The Life and Death of King John'' tracks very closely to a play that is believed to have been published slightly earlier: ''The Troublesome Reign of King John''. Shakespeare appears to have set out to write a much-improved version of that play, in which he succeeded by making John an [[AntiHero anti-hero]], removing the comfortable moral framework of the precursor, and removing a romantic subplot.

A play by Creator/WilliamShakespeare, thought to have been created somewhere between 1596 and 1598. It follows the life of King John, in his war against his rival, Phillip II of France, to his eventual death at the hands of a treacherous monk.

* DecoyProtagonist: The real hero is RichardTheLionheart's bastard Falconbridge.

* TheOphelia: Subverted. Similar to Ophelia (but preceding her, as ''{{Theater/Hamlet}}'' wouldn't be written yet for another year or two), Constance suffers the loss of her family, in this case, her little soon, and everyone around her says she is mad. But Constance herself sharply rebukes that she is still completely sane, that if she was mad, she wouldn't feel each grief as keenly as she does.

-->In another way, ''The Life and Death of King John'' tracks very closely to a play that is believed to have been published slightly earlier: ''The Troublesome Reign of King John''. Shakespeare appears to have set out to write a much-improved version of that play, in which he succeeded by making John an [[AntiHero anti-hero]], removing the comfortable moral framework of the precursor, and removing a romantic subplot.
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: Philip "The Bastard" Faulconbridge is identified as a probable biological heir to King Richerd Lionheart, before he even begins to describe how Richard is probably his father.

* DecoyProtagonist - The real hero is RichardTheLionheart's bastard Falconbridge.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade - John gets a very slight one as he is presented as England's champion against the Catholic church's meddling.

A play by WilliamShakespeare, thought to have been created somewhere between 1596 and 1598. It follows the life of King John, in his war against his rival, Phillip II of France, to his eventual death at the hands of a treacherous monk.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Queen Elinor, until this point an important supporting character, is sent off to take charge of assets in France, and it is mentioned later that she died.

* HeroicBastard: The eponymous Phillip The Bastard, a prime example of this trope.

->In another way, ''The Life and Death of King John'' tracks very closely to a play that is believed to have been published slightly earlier: ''The Troublesome Reign of King John''. Shakespeare appears to have set out to write a much-improved version of that play, in which he succeeded by making John an [[AntiHero anti-hero]], removing the comfortable moral framework of the precursor, and removing a romantic subplot.

--->In another way, ''The Life and Death of King John'' tracks very closely to a play that is believed to have been published slightly earlier: ''The Troublesome Reign of King John''. Shakespeare appears to have set out to write a much-improved version of that play, in which he succeeded by making John an [[AntiHero anti-hero]], removing the comfortable moral framework of the precursor, and removing a romantic subplot.