King John

William Shakespeare · c. 1596 CE · Play · English · Renaissance

John holds England against a French-backed claim from his young nephew Arthur, whose custody becomes the whole substance of the war. Richard the Lionheart's acknowledged bastard son attaches himself to the king and narrates the bargaining as it happens. Legitimacy auctioned in every scene.

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Lineage

• shares sources with ↑ Richard III
  William Shakespeare · c. 1593 CE · Play
• ↓ Twice-Told Tales
  Nathaniel Hawthorne · 1837 CE · Short Story — takes its title from this

Attributes

Closest analogues

• The Lion in Winter
  Anthony Harvey · 1968 CE · Film

  77% · 14 shared
  HistoricalPoliticalPower & CorruptionLegitimacyBetrayalDuty & HonorRuler / KingTricksterThe CrownThe Prisonvs PersonIronicTragicEnglish
• Edward II
  Christopher Marlowe · c. 1592 CE · Play

  73% · 15 shared
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• Britannicus
  Jean Racine · 1669 CE · Play

  68% · 13 shared
  PlayHistoricalPoliticalPower & CorruptionLegitimacyBetrayalRuler / KingInnocentTragic ReversalThe CrownPoisonvs PersonTragic
• Ivan the Terrible, Part I
  Sergei Eisenstein · 1944 CE · Film

  63% · 11 shared
  HistoricalPoliticalPower & CorruptionBetrayalDuty & HonorRuler / KingChronicleThe CrownPoisonvs PersonTragic
• Richard III
  Laurence Olivier · 1955 CE · Film

  60% · 12 shared
  HistoricalPoliticalPower & CorruptionBetrayalRuler / KingTricksterTragic ReversalThe Crownvs PersonIronicTragicEnglish
• Julius Caesar
  Joseph L. Mankiewicz · 1953 CE · Film

  60% · 11 shared
  HistoricalPoliticalPower & CorruptionBetrayalDuty & HonorRuler / KingTragic ReversalThe Crownvs PersonIronicTragic