SOURCE: Colmo, Christopher. “Coming Home: The Political Settlement in Shakespeare's King John.” In Shakespeare's Political Pageant: Essays in Literature and Politics, edited by Joseph Alulis and Vickie Sullivan, pp. 91-101. Lanham Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1996.

In the following essay, Colmo reviews the political issues of King John, and within this context discusses the problems related to the inheritance of rule in general, King John's role as a usurper and his treatment of Arthur in particular.

King John portrays the nearly successful invasion of England by the French. This success is made possible in part by the revolt of John's nobles, who aid the invaders. In the last scene of the play, Sir Richard, the bastard son of Richard Coeur-de-lion but knighted by King John, proclaims to the rebels, who have newly returned their allegiance to John, that England can never again be successfully invaded as long as...