Cummings
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Books
.
.
Study
Guide Prepared by Michael J. Cummings...©
2003
Revised
in 2010..©
.
Type
of Work.......King
John is classified as a history play although it also qualifies as
a tragedy inasmuch as it depicts the downfall of the main character.
Key
Dates
.
Date
Written: Between 1591 and 1598 (probably 1596).
First
Printing: 1623 as part of the First Folio,
the first authorized collection of Shakespeare's plays.
Source
.......Shakespeare’s
source was The Troublesome Raigne of King John of England (Anonymous,
1591), which was based on accounts in The Chronicles of England, Scotland
and Ireland (Holinshed’s Chronicles), by Raphael Holinshed (?-1580?).
Holinshed began work on this history under the royal printer Reginald Wolfe.
The first edition of the chronicles was published in 1577 in two volumes.
Historical
Background
.......England's
King John was born in 1167 as the youngest of three sons of King Henry
II and Eleanor of Aquitaine (Queen Elinor in the play). His brother Richard
the Lion-Hearted, acceded to the throne in 1189, but envious John tried
to usurp the kingship while Richard was fighting in the Third Crusade.
After Richard died in battle in France in 1189, John inherited the throne.
Settings
.
.......The
action takes place in England and France, between 1199 and 1216. Specific
locales are King John's palace in London, a battlefield before Angiers
(spelled today Angers) in northwestern France, an English castle
holding the imprisoned Arthur, St. Edmundsbury in England, a battlefield
in England, and a field and orchard at Swinstead Abbey in England.
Characters
.
King John: Mean-spirited
son of King Henry II (1133-1189) and brother of the late King Richard the
Lion-Hearted. John was born in 1167 and died in 1216, reigning as king
from 1199 until he died by poisoning.
Queen Elinor: Domineering
mother of King John and widow of King Henry II. Historians generally refer
to her as Eleanor of Aquitaine, but she has also been called
Eleanor of Guyenne, Éléonore d'Aquitaine, and Aliéonor
d'Aquitaine.
Prince Henry: Son
of King John.
Philip Faulconbridge:
Illegitimate son of King Richard I, the Lion-Hearted, and Lady Faulconbridge.
Like his father, Philip is a valiant warrior and serves England with great
distinction.
 Robert
Faulconbridge: Legitimate son of Lady Faulconbridge and Sir Robert
Faulconbridge. He claims lands held by his half-brother, Philip.
Arthur, Duke of Bretagne
(Brittany): Nephew of King John and posthumous son of Geoffrey Plantagenet.
The king of France maintains that Arthur (1187-1203), just a boy, is the
rightful King of England.
Constance: Mother
of Arthur who champions his claim on the English throne against Queen Elinor.
Rebels Against King John:
Earl of Pembroke, Earl of Salisbury, Lord Bigot.
Hubert de Burgh:
Chamberlain of King John.
James Gurney: Servant
of Lady Faulconbridge.
Peter of Pomfret:
Prophet.
Philip, King of France.
Lewis, Dauphin of France:
Heir
to the French throne.
Lymoges, Duke of Austria
Cardinal Pandulph:
Pope's legate.
Melun: French Lord.
Chatillon: Ambassador
from France to King John.
Blanch of Spain:
Niece of King John. She marries the dauphin.
Minor Characters:
Lords, citizens of Angiers, sheriff, heralds, officers, soldiers, messengers,
attendants.
.
Plot
Summary
By
Michael J. Cummings...©
2003
........King
Philip of France delivers a brazen message to King John of England. It
declares that the English crown and all of its possessions—including Ireland,
Poitiers, Anjou, Touraine, and Maine—rightfully belong to John’s nephew
Arthur, the Duke of Bretagne (Brittany). At the English court in London,
Philip’s emissary, Chatillon, boldly declares that France will wage “fierce
and bloody war" if John refuses to yield the crown to Arthur.
.......Arthur,
just a child, is the son of John’s deceased brother Geoffrey Plantagenet.
John and Geoffrey's other brother, Richard I the Lion-Hearted (1157-1199),
sat on the English throne from 1189 until his death in 1199 during a battle
in France. It was Arthur’s mother, Constance, who persuaded the French
king to claim the English throne for Arthur. As a kind of stage mother,
she is ever ready to bully, badger, and browbeat to further her son’s career.
And she has been quite successful in making her case on behalf of little
Arthur. John is weak and cowardly, but he has a powerful ally: his domineering
mother, Queen Elinor. She is as forceful in championing John as Constance
is in championing Arthur. John dismisses Chatillon, warning him that England
chooses war.
.......Meanwhile,
a charming, happy-go-lucky fellow named Philip Faulconbridge presents himself
before John to request that the king settle an argument. It seems that
Philip Faulconbridge’s brother, Robert, claims all of Philip’s lands because
the latter is a bastard and, therefore, not legally entitled to receive
property. King John notices that Philip bears a remarkable resemblance
to his late brother, Richard I the Lion-Hearted. (Philip is the illegitimate
son of Richard I and Lady Faulconbridge.) John offers Philip a choice:
Take the disputed property or claim as his father King Richard I. Philip
chooses to be the son of a king. John then bestows on him the title “Sir
Richard Plantagenet." However, Philip goes by a single name throughout
the rest of the play: “Bastard." He is to take the field on John’s behalf
in the coming war against France.
.......In
France, King Philip and his forces are besieging the English-held town
of Angiers when Arthur and his mother, Constance, welcome Lymoges, the
Duke of Austria, an ally of the French. (When he was the viscount of Lymoges—usually
spelled Limoges—the duke was attacked
by Richard the Lion-Hearted at the viscount’s castle at Châlus after
the viscount refused to surrender gold dug up by a French peasant. An arrow
shot by one of the viscount’s men killed Richard. (The account of this
incident is not part of Shakespeare’s play.)
.......However,
in Act II, the oldest son of the King of France, Lewis, introduces the
Duke of Austria as the slayer of Richard (Arthur’s father) and says the
duke has decided to fight for France to redeem himself. Young Arthur absolves
the duke of any guilt, saying, “God shall forgive you Coeur-de-lion’s death
/ The rather that you give his offspring life" (2.1.14-15). When King Philip
prepares to bombard the town with cannon fire, Chatillon arrives from England.
He tells the king to
Turn your forces from this paltry siege
And stir them up against
a mightier task.
England, impatient of your
just demands,
Hath put himself in arms:
the adverse winds,
Whose leisure I have stay’d,
have given him time
To land his legions all
as soon as I;
His marches are expedient
to this town,
His forces strong, his soldiers
confident. (2.1.57-64)
.......Soon
thereafter, King John and his army arrive, along with John’s mother, Queen
Elinor. Drums beat, heralding John’s arrival for a parley with the French.
The two kings—along with the would-be king,
Arthur, and his mother, Constance—meet to
voice their demands and grievances. While the kings and their representatives
argue their claims, Elinor and Constance exchange insults:
QUEEN ELINOR
Thou monstrous slanderer of heaven and earth!
CONSTANCE Thou
monstrous injurer of heaven and earth!
Call not me slanderer; thou
and thine usurp
The dominations, royalties
and rights
Of this oppressed boy: this
is thy eld’st son’s son. (2.1.181-185)
.......Faulconbridge,
hot to wield his sword for England, calls for all-out war, as does the
Duke of Austria on behalf of the French side. As the armies prepare to
engage, the citizens of Angiers propose a settlement sealed by a marriage.
John’s niece Blanch, the daughter of the King of Spain, should marry Lewis,
the oldest son (dauphin) of the King of France. Lewis and Blanch are both
present. Thus, France and England would become “in-laws" and friends. The
two kings endorse this agreement. However, the Bastard disapproves of the
plan, believing it will only cause more trouble in the end. Constance,
too, disapproves. Her son, after all, will lose the throne. Nevertheless,
the marriage takes place.
.......By
and by, Cardinal Pandulph, an envoy from Pope Innocent, arrives to confront
King John on an ecclesiastical matter. It seems the king opposes the pope’s
choice of Stephen Langton to be Archbishop of Canterbury. King John tells
Pandulph that as King of England he holds supreme authority in his realm
and pays no heed to the demands of the Vatican. John says:
Tell him this tale;
and from the mouth of England
Add thus much more, that
no Italian priest
Shall tithe or toll in our
dominions;
But as we, under heaven,
are supreme head,
So under Him that great
supremacy,
Where we do reign, we will
alone uphold,
Without the assistance of
a mortal hand. (3.1.158-164)
.......Philip,
shocked that King John would oppose the will of Pope Innocent, says, “Brother
of England, you blaspheme in this" (3. 1. 167). The cardinal then wields
a  fearsome
weapon of the Vatican: He excommunicates John, barring him from participating
in church rites and receiving the sacraments, such as Holy Eucharist, and
disqualifying him from Christian burial. (Cut off from the church’s salvific
powers, an excommunicated person risks loss of heaven. The purpose of excommunication
is to force a sinner to acknowledge his errors in order to allow him to
return to full community in the church.) Philip, not wishing to risk the
wrath of the church, sides with Pandulph.
.......Thus,
John and Philip are again at odds and they go to war. After the armies
clash, the Bastard kills the man who killed his father (Richard I) and
rescues King John’s mother, Queen Elinor. Arthur is taken captive, and
the English win the day. John orders the Bastard back to England to “shake
the bags / Of hoarding abbots" (3. 3. 9-10), explaining that “the fat ribs
of peace / Must by the hungry now be fed upon" (3.3.11-12). King John next
orders his friend, Hubert de Burgh, to kill Arthur after the boy has been
transported to England, declaring that Arthur “is a very serpent in my
way" (3.3.65).
.......Meanwhile,
Cardinal Pandulph, believing Arthur will indeed die, encourages Lewis to
claim the English throne. John, now back in England, orders Hubert to burn
out Arthur’s eyes with hot irons. However, Hubert has taken a liking to
the innocent lad and spares him. To protect the boy, Hubert gives out word
that Arthur is dead. In response, the great lords who have been entreating
John to allow Arthur to live, break with John and form an alliance with
the French, who have landed an army in England to win the throne for Lewis.
Constance, stricken with a terrible sense of loss over the apparent death
of her son, says:
Grief fills the
room up of my absent child,
Lies in his bed, walks up
and down with me,
Puts on his pretty looks,
repeats his words,
Remembers me of all his
gracious parts,
Stuffs out his vacant garments
with his form. (3.4.98)
.......Later,
she dies in a frenzy of grief. Queen Elinor also dies. (No explanation
for her death is given.) When John begins to repent his actions and all
seems lost, Hubert tells the king young Arthur is yet alive. John then
orders Hubert to go to the great lords and “throw this report on their
incensed rage" (4. 2. 275). But, alas, Arthur, in an attempt to escape
imprisonment, falls onto rocks and dies.
.......The
lords blame Hubert and John for the boy’s death and join the French forces.
While John is concluding a reconciliation with the Vatican, he asks Cardinal
Pandulph to go to the French and effect a peace. Pandulph agrees, saying,
“My tongue shall hush again this storm of war" (5. 1. 23). After Pandulph
leaves, the Bastard arrives with news that the lords have deserted King
John and that Arthur has been found dead. John gives the Bastard command
of the English troops after Pandulph fails at peacemaking. The Bastard
serves his king well, almost singlehandedly holding off the French. When
the English lords learn from a dying Frenchman that Lewis plans to execute
them if he wins the throne, they return to the side of King John. However,
King John is also dying. A monk, “a resolved villain" (5. 6. 35), has poisoned
him, Hubert tells the Bastard. When asked how he fares, King John says
he is
Poison’d—ill
fare—dead, forsook, cast off:
And none of you will bid
the winter come
To thrust his icy fingers
in my maw,
Nor let my kingdom’s rivers
take their course
Through my burn’d bosom,
nor entreat the north
To make his bleak winds
kiss my parched lips
And comfort me with cold.
I do not ask you much,
I beg cold comfort; and
you are so strait
And so ingrateful, you deny
me that. (5.7.41-49)
.......After
John expires, Pandulph forges a peace agreement between England and France,
and John’s son, Prince Henry, inherits the throne as King Henry III. Henry
decrees that his father is to be buried at Worcester, according to his
wishes. The Bastard then salutes and pledges his loyalty to the new king,
to whom “I do bequeath my faithful services / And true subjection everlastingly"
(112-114).
. Climax.......The
climax of a play or narrative work, such as a short story or a novel, can
be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve
itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event
in a series of events. The climax of King John occurs, according
to the first definition, when John orders the death of Arthur even though
John has won the battle against the French. His cruelty turns his own people
against him and sets in motion his downfall. According to the second definition,
the climax occurs when John dies by poisoning.
.. ..
Themes
.
Family
feuds can bring deadly results. Unresolved disputes involving family
members lead to great political and social upheaval, war, and sometimes
death.
The
power-hungry often victimize the innocent. In the struggle for power
in King John—and in struggles for power in any age and place—the
adversaries often stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Arthur, a little
boy who is the focus of the conflict in King John, becomes a pawn
in the effort of his grasping mother and her French supporters to seize
the throne of England. Ironically, Arthur himself has no desire to be king.
In Act II, Scene I, he says, "I would that I were low laid in my grave:
/ I am not worth this coil that's made for me."
Mothers
can be mighty. Arthur's mother, Constance, persuades the King of France
to press England to accept Arthur as its rightful king. John's mother,
Elinor, stands by her son like a rabid pit bull.Imagery
.
.......King
John contains memorable similes, metaphors, and other figures of speech
even though Shakespeare wrote the play early in his career. Here is a sampling:
Life is as tedious
as a twice-told tale
Vexing the dull ear of a
drowsy man. (3.4.113-114)
In a simile, Lewis compares life
to a tale. Alliteration occurs in tedious, twice-told, and tale.
When Fortune means to men
most good,
She looks upon them with
a threatening eye. (3.4.124-125)
Cardinal Pandulph uses personification,
turning fortune into a person. Alliteration occurs in means, men,
and most.
To gild refined gold, to
paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the
violet,
To smooth the ice, or add
another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with
taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye
of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous
excess. (4.2. 3-18)
In a metaphor, Salisbury compares
excess to gilding gold, painting a lily, etc.
And oftentimes excusing of
a fault
Doth make the fault the
worse by the excuse. (4 2.32-33)
Pembroke uses paradox and irony
to say that excusing a fault worsens it.
How oft the sight of
means to do ill deeds
Makes deeds ill done!
(4. 2. 233-234)
King John uses irony to express
his view. Alliteration occurs in do, deeds, deeds, and done.
[H]is pure brain,
Which some suppose the soul’s
frail dwelling-house,
Doth by the idle comments
that it makes
Foretell the ending of mortality.
(5.7 4-8)
Prince Henry, observing his poisoned
father, uses a metaphor to compare brain to house and synecdoche
to make the brain represent man. lliteration occurs in some, suppose,
and soul’s. Synecdoche occurs when brain represents a man.
There is so hot a summer
in my bosom,
That all my bowels crumble
up to dust:
I am a scribbled form, drawn
with a pen
Upon a parchment, and against
this fire
Do I shrink up. (5.7.35-39)
In a metaphor, King John, dying,
compares the hot summer to pain and debility. In another metaphor, he compares
himself to a scribbled drawing.
And none of you will bid
the winter come
To thrust his icy fingers
in my maw,
Nor let my kingdom’s rivers
take their course
Through my burn’d bosom,
nor entreat the north
To make his bleak winds
kiss my parched lips
And comfort me with cold.
I do not ask you much,
I beg cold comfort; and
you are so strait
And so ingrateful, you deny
me that. (5.7.42-49)
King John dying, uses personification
and metaphor to compare winter and north wind to persons. Alliteration
occurs in my maw, burn’d bosom, comfort and cold,
cold
and comfort, and so strait.
.
King
John and the Magna Carta
.
.......King
John was the signer of the Magna Carta on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede meadows
in Surrey, England. It granted special liberties and rights, including
a clause used later to establish habeas corpus (the right to a speedy
trial). John signed the historic document under pressure from the disenchanted
nobility, whom he had taxed heavily. The Magna Carta (Latin for Great
Charter) provided that the king was subject to the law, not above the
law. Modern legal documents in the U.S., England, and elsewhere have adopted
this principle, making heads of state and other officials answerable to
the law of the land.
.
History
Repeats Itself.......The
conflict in King John similar to the conflict between Elizabeth
and Mary in the sixteenth century. Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587), a grand-niece
of King Henry VIII (1491-1547), claimed the English throne after Elizabeth
(1533-1603), Henry's daughter by Anne Boleyn (1507-1536), became Queen
of England in 1558. Because Henry eventually rejected and executed Elizabeth's
mother and remarried, supporters of Mary Queen of Scots declared she was
the rightful queen of England, not Elizabeth. A period of unrest ensued
in England, mainly between Catholic supporters of Mary and Protestant supporters
of Elizabeth. Like King John, Queen Elizabeth was condemned by the papacy.
Like the throne claimant Arthur, Mary eventually died (by beheading).
Murder
by Poisoning
.
.......Poison
kills King John to make way for a new ruler. This murder method has been
a favorite of assassins since ancient times. It is said that the custom
of garnishing food with parsley originated in the time of the Caesars.
Parsley was a secret sign from a friend in the kitchen that food was uncontaminated.
.......Poisoning
was only one of a remarkable of variety of killing tools and methods Shakespeare
used to send his characters to the beyond. In Othello, Moor of Venice,
Othello smothers Desdemona, apparently with a pillow. (The stage directions
say he "stifles" Desdemona.) In Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra
commits suicide via the bite of an asp. In Richard III, Clarence
is drowned in a barrel of wine. In Macbeth, hired assassins inflict
"twenty trenched gashes" upon Banquo's head. In Cymbeline, Guiderius
decapitates Clotan. In King Lear, Goneril stabs herself while Gloucester,
blinded by his enemies, hurls himself off a cliff. But because the cliff
is only about six feet high, he survives. In Hamlet, Claudius murders
his predecessor by pouring poison into his ear.
Study
Questions and Essay Topics
-
Which
character in the play do you most admire ? Which do you least admire?
-
In King
John, does Shakespeare interpret history or does he report history?
-
If you
had lived in the England of King John, would you have been among the nobles
who rebelled against him? Explain your answer.
-
Write
a psychological profile of King John, using quotations from Shakespeare’s
play—as well as other research—to support your views.
-
Many conflicts
arose in early England and elsewhere in Europe over birthrights and inheritances.
In King John, the French and English argue over who is the rightful
heir to the throne of England. In addition, two Englishmen—Philip Faulconbridge
and his brother, Robert, who have the same mother but different fathers—argue
over who is the rightful heir to family property. In an expository essay,
explain the laws and customs used in the time of King John to determine
rightful heirs to the throne and rightful heirs to family property.
-
What was
everyday life like for an ordinary citizen in the England of King John?
-
According
to Shakespeare’s play, King John was poisoned. In your view, do citizens
ruled by a tyrant—a Nero, a Hitler, a Saddam Hussein—have a moral right
or even a moral duty to assassinate the tyrant? Explain your answer.
Plays
on DVD (or VHS)
..
| Play |
Director |
Actors |
|
| Antony
and Cleopatra (1974) |
Trevor
Nunn, John Schoffield |
Richard
Johnson, Janet Suzman |
|
| Antony
and Cleopatra |
BBC
Production |
Jane
Lapotaire |
|
| As
You Like It (2010) |
Thea
Sharrock |
Jack
Laskey, Naomi Frederick |
|
| As
You Like It (1937) |
Paul
Czinner |
Henry
Ainley, Felix Aylmer |
|
| The
Comedy of Errors |
BBC
Production |
Not
Listed |
|
| Coriolanus |
BBC
Production |
Alan
Howard, Irene Worth |
|
| Cymbeline |
Elijah
Moshinsky |
Claire
Bloom, Richard Johnson, Helen Mirren |
|
| Gift
Box: The Comedies |
BBC
Production |
Various |
|
| Gift
Box: The Histories |
BBC
Production |
Various |
|
| Gift
Box: The Tragedies |
BBC
Production |
Various |
|
| Hamlet
(1948) |
Laurence
Olivier |
Laurence
Olivier, Jean Simmons |
|
| Hamlet
(1990) |
Kevin
Kline |
Kevin
Kline |
|
| Hamlet(1991) |
Franco
Zeffirelli |
Mel
Gibson, Glenn Close |
|
| Hamlet
(1996) |
Kenneth
Branagh |
Kenneth
Branagh, |
|
| Hamlet
(2009) |
Gregory Doran |
David Tennant, Patrick Stewart,
Penny Downie |
|
| Hamlet
(1964) |
John
Gielgud, Bill Colleran |
Richard
Burton, Hume Cronyn |
|
| Hamlet
(1964) |
Grigori
Kozintsev |
Innokenti
Smoktunovsky |
|
| Hamlet
(2000) |
Cambpell
Scott, Eric Simonson |
Campbell
Scott, Blair Brown |
|
| Henry
V (1989) |
Kenneth
Branagh |
Kenneth
Branaugh, Derek Jacobi |
|
| Henry
V( 1946) |
Laurence
Olivier |
Leslie
Banks, Felix Aylmer |
|
| Henry
VI Part I |
BBC
Production |
Peter
Benson, Trevor Peacock |
|
| Henry
VI Part II |
BBC
Production |
Not
Listed |
|
| Henry
VI Part III |
BBC
Production |
Not
Listed |
|
| Henry
VIII |
BBC
Production |
John
Stride, Claire Bloom, Julian Glover |
|
| Julius
Caesar |
BBC
Production |
Richard
Pasco, Keith Michell |
|
| Julius
Caesar (1950) |
David
Bradley |
Charlton
Heston |
|
| Julius
Caesar (1953) |
Joseph
L. Mankiewicz |
Marlon
Brando, James Mason |
|
| Julius
Caesar (1970) |
Stuart
Burge |
Charlton
Heston, Jason Robards |
|
| King
John |
BBC
Production |
Not
Listed |
|
| King
Lear (1970) |
Grigori
Kozintsev |
Yuri
Yarvet |
|
| King
Lear (1971) |
Peter
Brook |
Cyril
Cusack, Susan Engel |
|
| King
Lear (1974) |
Edwin
Sherin |
James
Earl Jones |
|
| King
Lear (1976) |
Tony
Davenall |
Patrick
Mower, Ann Lynn |
|
| King
Lear (1984) |
Michael
Elliott |
Laurence
Olivier, Colin Blakely |
|
| King
Lear (1997) |
Richard
Eyre |
Ian
Holm |
|
| Love's
Labour's Lost (2000) |
Kenneth
Branagh |
Kenneth
Branagh, Alicia Silverstone |
|
| Love's
Labour's Lost |
BBC
Production) |
Not
Listed |
|
| Macbeth
(1978) |
Philip
Casson |
Ian
McKellen, Judy Dench |
|
| Macbeth |
BBC
Production |
Not
Listed |
|
| The
Merchant of Venice |
BBC
Production |
Warren
Mitchell, Gemma Jones |
|
| The
Merchant of Venice (2001) |
Christ
Hunt, Trevor Nunn |
David
Bamber, Peter De Jersey |
|
| The
Merchant of Venice (1973) |
John
Sichel |
Laurence
Olivier, Joan Plowright |
|
| The
Merry Wives of Windsor (1970) |
Not
Listed |
Leon
Charles, Gloria Grahame |
|
| Midsummer
Night's Dream (1996) |
Adrian
Noble |
Lindsay
Duncan, Alex Jennings |
|
| A
Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) |
Michael
Hoffman |
Kevin
Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer |
|
| Much
Ado About Nothing (1993) |
Kenneth
Branaugh |
Branaugh,
Emma Thompson |
|
| Much
Ado About Nothing (1973) |
Nick
Havinga |
Sam
Waterston, F. Murray Abraham |
|
| Othello
(2005) |
Janet
Suzman |
Richard
Haines, John Kaki |
|
| Othello
(1990) |
Trevor
Nunn |
Ian
McKellen, Michael Grandage |
|
| Othello
(1965) |
Stuart
Burge |
Laurence
Olivier, Frank Finlay |
|
| Othello
(1955) |
Orson
Welles |
Orson
Welles |
|
| Othello
(1983) |
Franklin
Melton |
Peter
MacLean, Bob Hoskins, Jenny Agutter |
|
| Ran
(1985) Japanese Version of King Lear |
Akira
Kurosawa |
Tatsuya
Nakadai, Akira Terao |
|
| Richard
II (2001) |
John
Farrell |
Matte
Osian, Kadina de Elejalde |
|
| Richard
III (1912) |
André
Calmettes, James Keane |
Robert
Gemp, Frederick Warde |
|
| Richard
III - Criterion Collection (1956) |
Laurence
Olivier |
Laurence
Olivier, Ralph Richardson |
|
| Richard
III (1995) |
Richard
Loncraine |
Ian
McKellen, Annette Bening |
|
| Richard
III |
BBC
Production |
Ron
Cook, Brian Protheroe, Michael Byrne |
|
| Romeo
and Juliet (1968) |
Franco
Zeffirelli |
Leonard
Whiting, Olivia Hussey |
|
| Romeo
and Juliet (1996) |
Baz
Luhrmann |
Leonardo
DiCaprio, Claire Danes |
|
| Romeo
and Juliet (1976) |
Joan
Kemp-Welch |
Christopher
Neame, Ann Hasson |
|
| Romeo
and Juliet |
BBC
Production |
John
Gielgud, Rebecca Saire, Patrick Ryecart |
|
| The
Taming of the Shrew |
Franco
Zeffirelli |
Elizabeth
Taylor, Richard Burton |
|
| The
Taming of the Shrew |
Kirk
Browning |
Raye
Birk, Earl Boen, Ron Boussom |
|
| The
Taming of The Shrew |
Not
Listed |
Franklin
Seales, Karen Austin |
|
| The
Tempest |
Paul
Mazursky |
John
Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands |
|
| The
Tempest (1998) |
Jack
Bender |
Peter
Fonda, John Glover, Harold Perrineau, |
|
| Throne
of Blood (1961) Macbeth in Japan |
Akira
Kurosawa |
Toshirô
Mifune, Isuzu Yamada |
|
| Twelfth
Night (1996) |
Trevor
Nunn |
Helena
Bonham Carter |
|
| Twelfth
Night |
BBC
Production |
Not
Listed |
|
| The
Two Gentlemen of Verona |
BBC
Production |
John
Hudson, Joanne Pearce |
|
| The
Winter's Tale (2005) |
Greg
Doran |
Royal
Shakespeare Company |
| The
Winter's Tale |
BBC
Production |
Not
Listed |
. |
