Arthur is believed to be dead and Constance kills herself. Queen Elinor also dies. Arthur, in an attempt to escape imprisonment, falls onto rocks and dies. King John is poisoned. Cardinal Pandulph, the Pope's legate, forges a peace agreement between England and France, and John's son Henry becomes king. 

Information provided about the play
William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers (there were no copyright laws protecting Shakespeare and his works during the Elizabethan era). A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 (a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616) when two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by historical events, records of performances and the dates plays appeared in print.

Date first performed
It is believed that the play was first performed between 1596 and 1597. In the Elizabethan era 
there was a huge demand for new entertainment and King John would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

Date first printed
It is believed that the drama was first printed in 1623 as part of the First Folio. As William Shakespeare clearly did not ant his work published details of the play would have therefore been noted, and often pirated without his consent, following a performance.

The settings for King John
The settings are England and France

Theme of King John
The play is categorised as a History

Number of words in King John
The number of words in the script, according to the Complete Public Domain Text is 21,842.

Most important characters
The most important characters are:
King John, Queen Elinor and Constance

Famous Quotes / Quotations
Details of the following quote is complete with information regarding the Act and the Scene, allowing a quick reference to the section of the play that this quotation can be found in. Please click here for the full text of the script of the play.

"With taper-light To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish. (Act IV, Scene II) 

History of King John
King John was based on the history of England and France between 1199 and 1216.

We recommend the following link to access facts, information, a biography and timeline of
King John