CRITICISM

Barish, Jonas. “King John and Oath Breach.” In Shakespeare: Text, Language, Criticism. Essays in Honour of Marvin Spevack, edited by Bernhard Fabian and Kurt Tetzeli von Rosador, pp. 1-18. Hildesheim: Olms-Weidmann, 1987.

Explores Shakespeare's preoccupation with the theme of the pledging and breaking of oaths in King John.

Burgoyne, Sidney C. “Cardinal Pandulph and the ‘Curse of Rome.’” College Literature 4, no. 3 (fall 1977): 232-40.

Maintains that Pandulph, the papal legate, is a highly influential character in the play and serves as a primary source of the corruption from which England suffers.

Candido, Joseph. Introduction to Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition: ‘King John.’ Edited by Joseph Candido, pp. 1-30. London: Athlone, 1996.

Offers a detailed survey and discussion of the critical assessments of King John from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries.

Feingold, Michael. “Monarch Notes.” The Village Voice 45, no. 5 (8 February 2000): 71.

Reviews the Theatre for a New Audience production of King John directed by Karin Coonrod, and finds that the production suffered from Coonrod's attempt to remove the grandeur of the play in an effort to make it more accessible to modern audiences.

Sibly, John. “The Anomalous Case of King John.” ELH 33, no. 4 (December 1966): 415-21.

Studies the contemporary significance of Shakespeare's treatment of the relationship between King John and the Catholic Church, and explores the implications of John's surrender to the Pope.

Stroud, Ronald. “The Bastard to the Time in King John.” Comparative Drama 6, no. 2 (summer 1972): 154-66.

Asserts that the Bastard becomes a symbol of honor in King John through his renunciation of the aberrant values of his society.