How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #4
KING JOHN
The cannons have their bowels full of wrath,
And ready mounted are they to spit forth
Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls.
All preparation for a bloody siege
And merciless proceeding by these French
Comforts your city's eyes, your winking gates,
And, but for our approach, those sleeping stones,
That as a waist doth girdle you about,
By the compulsion of their ordinance
By this time from their fixèd beds of lime
Had been dishabited, and wide havoc made
For bloody power to rush upon your peace. (2.1.219-230)
For all his impatience to go to war, King John seems to have no illusions about how horrible war can be. How do we put these two attitudes together? Is it simply that John doesn't think that he and his men will be the ones to suffer so horribly, so he has no problem starting wars?
Quote #5
FRENCH HERALD
You men of Angiers, open wide your gates,
And let young Arthur, Duke of Britain, in,
Who by the hand of France this day hath made
Much work for tears in many an English mother,
[…]
And victory with little loss doth play
Upon the dancing banners of the French,
[…]
ENGLISH HERALD
Rejoice, you men of Angiers, ring your bells!
King John, your king and England's, doth approach,
Commander of this hot malicious day.
[…]
Open your gates, and give the victors way. (2.1.312-313, 319-320, 324-326, 336)
Another problem with war: sometimes it doesn't solve anything at all. This totally ironic scene comes after King John and King Philip have each already asked the citizens of Angers once before to recognize one or the other of them as king. The first time around, Hubert instructed the kings that their two armies would first have to fight for dominance; then, Angers would swear allegiance to whoever came out on top. Well, the two armies dutifully went off and slugged it out… but then, lo and behold: there's no clear winner. So much bloodshed, so little point.
Quote #6
BASTARD
The life, the right, and truth of all this realm
Is fled to heaven, and England now is left
To tug and scamble and to part by th' teeth
The unowed interest of proud-swelling state.
Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty
Doth doggèd war bristle his angry crest
And snarleth in the gentle eyes of peace.
Now powers from home and discontents at home
Meet in one line, and vast confusion waits,
As doth a raven on a sick-fall'n beast,
The imminent decay of wrested pomp. (4.3.152-162)
The Bastard's attitude toward war seems paradoxical in the same way King John's attitude does in the fourth quotation from this section. Throughout the play, the Bastard has shown himself to be extremely aggressive, always looking for a fight or an opportunity to lead his side into battle. Yet how do we put that together with these words, which dwell on the horror of war? Could it be that here, unlike at other times, the Bastard is confronting the horror of war within his own country, in the civil war that pits King John's forces against the rebel English lords? Does this experience make the horror of war real for the Bastard in a way that it wasn't before, or has he been aware of the horror of war all along?