King John Memory and the Past Quotes

Of course, the incident from the conflict between Spain and England that would be freshest in the minds of Shakespeare's audience would be the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, which happened only two or three years before King John was first performed. During that battle, the English narrowly avoided getting trounced by a massive Spanish fleet thanks to a combination of naval prowess and a lucky storm that destroyed many Spanish ships. It's pretty much impossible to hear these words by King Philip of France (whose name even recalls that of King Philip of Spain, England's enemy during Shakespeare's day) and not think of the Spanish Armada incident.

And yet, despite all these references to the ongoing conflict between England and Spain, Shakespeare hasn't simply loaded his play up with anti-Catholic references; in fact, there are several moments in the play that could be read the other way. Check out these lines by King John, in which he protests the excessive eagerness of servants who rush to carry out their master's orders without double-checking to be certain what he wanted.

It seems possible that many of Shakespeare's original audience members would have heard this as a reference to the murder of Thomas Becket by King Henry II (King John's father). Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was an old friend of King Henry, but they had had a falling out. One day, in a fit of rage, King Henry shouted out how he wished somebody would get rid of Becket for him. Well, some knights overheard him, and they did get rid of Becket—by murdering him in his cathedral. (You can read more about this incident here.)

Because of this incident, Thomas Becket became a symbol of the conflict between monarchs and the Church; he was even made a saint by the Catholic Church. Of course, it's very hard to say what Shakespeare was specifically going for in this passage. Is it designed to make John look bad, or good, or neither? What's your take?

Another aspect of Shakespeare's play that makes it hard to interpret as anti-Catholic is its treatment of the murder of Arthur. In the years before King John was first performed, one incident that had European Catholics outraged was Queen Elizabeth's order to have her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, executed in 1587. This was actually a major provocation that lead to the battle with the Spanish Armada, which came in 1588. Elizabeth wanted Mary dead because she viewed her as a rival for the throne—in much the same way that John feared Arthur, who was also a family member. Do Salisbury's words reflect badly on Elizabeth's act? Or does the fact that Salisbury is a traitor to England suggest that anyone who disagreed with the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots is a traitor, as well?