He Is But a Bastard to the Time: Status and Service in The Troublesome Raigne of John and Shakespeare's King John | I.
I.
Both King John and the Troublesome Raigne contain a recognition scene—each play's Bastard finds out the truth of his birth in the public and legal context of a land (or succession) dispute. In King John, the Bastard and his brother "come from the country" for judgment and in Troublesome Raigne they, having "committed a riot," appeal to the King on the issue.5 In both plays, Robert Faulconbridge accuses his elder brother of being illegitimate and thus barred from inheriting the family estate.6 The basic claim is identical but details of its presentation vary considerably.7
In the Troublesome Raigne, Philip (the Bastard) presents himself as the victim of his younger brother's slander and greed: "the wrong is mine; yet wil I abide all wrongs, before I once open my mouth to unrippe the shamefull slaunder of my parents, the dishonour of myself, & the wicked dealing of my brother in this...
[The entire page is 3473 words long]
Navigate
