*
Vartan Gregorian
*
Jessica Hagedorn
*
Richard Howard
*
Charles Johnson
*
Jon Krakauer
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Edmund Morris
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Azar Nafisi
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Joyce Carol Oates
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Elaine Pagels
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John Richardson
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Salman Rushdie
*
Oliver Sacks
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Carolyn See
*
Gore Vidal
1.1 Location: England
1.1 King John youngest son of Henry II and Elinor; born 1166, reigned 1199-1216
1.1 Queen Elinor daughter of William V, Duke of Aquitaine; she married and divorced Louis VII of France before marrying Henry II of England 1 would France does the King of France want
3 behaviour person, i.e. through me
3 majesty sovereignty, splendor
4 borrowed assumed/feigned
6 embassy message (from the ambassador)
7 Philip of France King Philip II, son of Louis VII; lived 1165-1223, reigned from 1180
8 Geoffrey fourth son of Henry II
9 Arthur Plantagenet son of Geoffrey and Constance 10 territories dominions/dependencies
11 Poitiers i.e. the province of Poitou
12 sword i.e. state control
13 sways rules, controls
13 several various/individual
15 right by right, i.e. true
16 disallow of refuse
17 control constraint/mastery
22 embassy message/ambassadorial role
25 ere before
25 report deliver your message/make the noise of a cannon or of thunder
27 hence go from here
27 trumpet herald/musical wind instrument used to announce important arrivals 28 sullen presage gloomy portent
28 decay downfall/death
29 conduct escort
32 Constance heiress of Conan IV, Duke of Brittany; married Geoffrey in 1181 with whom she had Arthur 33 kindled stirred up, inflamed
33 France king and nation
34 Upon on behalf of
34 party part, side
35 made whole i.e. resolved
36 arguments proofs
36 love friendship
37 manage management, government
38 issue outcome
44 liege lord
44 controversy dispute
46 produce bring out
49 expeditious charge sudden cost
55 Coeur-de-lion Richard I, nicknamed "the Lionheart"
55 field battlefield
63 put you o'er direct you
63 heaven here and on several subsequent occasions "heaven" may be an alteration from "God," following 1606 Parliamentary "Act to restrain the Abuses of Players"
65 Out on thee expression of indignation
65 rude uncivilized
66 diffidence mistrust
69 a he
69 pops me out disinherits me
70 fair fully
75 once in a word/at some time
76 whe'er whether
76 true begot honorably conceived, legitimate
77 lay ... head i.e. leave my mother to answer 79 Fair fall may good fortune befall
84 like similar
85 madcap lunatic/wild fellow
85 lent brought
86 trick distinctive look, habit
87 affecteth imitates, assumes the character of
88 tokens signs, evidence
89 large composition general/robust constitution
90 parts qualities
92 move prompt
93 half-face profile/thin face
94 face plays on the sense of "brazen defiance"
95 half-faced groat coin worth four old pence with the monarch's face in profile; also, "imperfect/insignificant"
96 when that when
97 Your brother i.e. Richard I, Coeur-de-lion
99 tale story (perhaps plays on sense of "genitals") 99 employed made use of/occupied sexually
102 treat of discuss
102 high important
102 touching relating to/affecting
104 sojourned stayed
105 prevail gain the mastery/succeed in attaining/persuade 109 lusty vigorous, lively (plays on the sense of "product of lust") 109 got begot, conceived
111 took ... death i.e. swore most solemnly 114 before ... time i.e. before the full nine months were up 119 did play false was unfaithful
119 fault sin, moral defect (may play on the sense of "vagina") 120 lies ... hazards i.e. is one of the risks 121 how what
121 brother i.e. Richard I
124 sooth truth
124 kept ... world the owner of a cow has the right to keep any calf born of that cow 128 refuse him spurn Philip (the Bastard)
128 concludes settles it
131 will legal testament/wishes
134 will wish/carnal desire/penis
135 Whether which of the two
137 reputed recognized/supposed
138 presence self/personal dignity
139 an if if
139 shape appearance
140 Sir ... him i.e. that resembles Sir Robert's 141 riding-rods horse whips, i.e. skinny
143 in behind
144 three-farthings the thin three-farthing coin bore the queen's image in front of a rose 145 to his shape in addition to having his inherited physical appearance 146 Would I might may I
147 it every foot every foot of it
147 this i.e. my own
148 Nob nickname for Robert (puns on senses of "head/head of the family") 148 case puns on the sense of "face/appearance"
154 dear expensive, because more than a groat (fourpence) 156 thither i.e. to death
157 give ... way allow our superiors to go first, as is polite 161 form likeness, image
162 rise some editors emend to "arise" for the sake of meter 166 hour possible pun on "whore"
169 grandam grandmother
170 truth chaste loyalty
170 what though what of that
171 Something about in a somewhat indirect way
171 from the right distant from the correct way, i.e. legitimacy 172 window with vaginal connotations
172 hatch lower part of a door (with vaginal connotations) 173 stir plays on the senses of "get an erection/engage in sex"
173 walk plays on the sexual sense of "be erect"
174 have (sexual) possession
174 catch seize, get hold of
175 Near ... off i.e. to the target (in archery/sexually) 175 shot plays on the sense of "ejaculated"
179 speed travel hastily
180 need necessary
181 adieu good-bye
183 foot degree (may pun on French foutre, i.e. "fuck") 184 many a many i.e. many (emphatic)
185 Joan typical name for a country or lower-class woman 186 den evening (from "God give you good even")
186 God-a-mercy God have mercy on you
189 'Tis i.e. remembering men's names
189 respective attentive/respectful
190 conversion i.e. newly titled man
191 toothpick ornate toothpicks were fashionable and seen as a foreign sophistication 191 worship's mess company of people eating together (now honored by his title) 192 stomach appetite
192 sufficed satisfied
193 catechize question
194 picked foppish/having used the toothpick/specially chosen 194 of countries i.e. well-traveled
197 Absey book book of ABC
201 would wants, asks
202 Saving except
202 dialogue of compliment polite/affected conversation 205 supper i.e. supper-time
205 so thus
207 mounting (socially) ascending
/aspiring
208 bastard ... time not a true son of the current age 209 smack show the characteristics (literally, taste); Folio spelling "smoake" was alternative form of same word, which could also mean "observe, suspect"
209 observation observance of polite, fashionable practices 210 so am I i.e. a literal bastard
211 habit dress
211 device outward show/ingenuity/heraldic design 212 accoutrement formal trappings
213 motion desire, impulse
214 sweet poison i.e. flattery
214 tooth appetite, sweet tooth
215 practise plot
216 to ... learn i.e. learn how to spot other people's deception by studying it myself 217 strew be scattered
217 rising i.e. ascent to greatness
218 riding-robes horse-riding clothes
219 woman-post female messenger
220 blow a horn i.e. to announce her arrival (plays on the fact that her husband has recently been shown to be a cuckold; men with unfaithful wives were popularly imagined to wear horns on their forehead) 223 slave wretch, villain
224 holds in chase hunts
224 up and down in every respect/everywhere
226 Colbrand the Giant part of an invading Danish army defeated by Guy of Warwick, the eponymous hero of a medieval romance story 228 unreverend irreverent, disrespectful
231 give us leave leave us
233 Philip Sparrow the Bastard rejects his former name (since he has been renamed "Sir Richard Plantagenet") as a common name for sparrows (as it resembles their call) 234 toys trifling matters
234 abroad about, going on
234 anon soon
236 eat i.e. eaten (pronounced "et")
236 eat ... fast "He may his part on Good Friday eat and fast never the worse for ought he shall get" was proverbial 236 in of
238 do perform, achieve/make, produce/copulate
238 marry by the Virgin Mary
238 confess admit/agree
239 Could get i.e. were it possible he could conceive 240 handiwork i.e. his half-brother, Robert Falconbridge 241 beholding beholden, indebted
242 holp helped
244 That you who
245 untoward unmannerly, improper
245 knave scoundrel; the Bastard puns on the meaning "servant"
246 Basilisco a character in a contemporary play who insisted on his knighthood being acknowledged 247 dubbed knighted, by having a sword placed on the shoulder
250 Legitimation legitimacy
252 proper fine/respectable
254 deny renounce
256 suit urging, courtship
258 Heaven may heaven
258 charge account/responsibility
259 issue offspring
259 dear cherished/grievous/costly
260 defence resistance
261 get be conceived
263 privilege immunity
264 folly foolishness/lust
265 dispose disposal, command
266 Subjected obedient/as his royal subject
268 aweless fearless
268 lion ... hand as punishment for killing the Duke of Austria's son, Richard I was imprisoned with a lion, whose heart he tore out by putting his hand down its throat 270 perforce forcibly
273 Who whoever
275 kin (new) relations
277 said him nay refused him
278 was i.e. a sin
2.1 Location: France
2.1 before Angiers in front of the gates of Angiers, on the Loire river 2.1 Dauphin title for heir to the French throne 2.1 Austria historically Leopold V; apparently wearing a lion's skin, supposedly taken from Richard I 2 that ... blood i.e. your predecessor
4 holy ... Palestine the Crusades
5 By i.e. at the hand of
6 posterity descendants
7 importance request
8 spread display
8 colours battle flags
9 rebuke repress
10 unnatural i.e. behaving in a manner that contradicts natural kinship 13 offspring descendants
14 Shadowing sheltering
15 powerless i.e. without a military force behind it 16 unstained pure, unblemished
19 zealous earnest
20 seal ... indenture wax seal on a legal contract 23 pale either adjectival (colorless) or a noun (boundary, enclosure) 23 pale ... shore i.e. the chalk cliffs of England's southeastern coast (hence England) 24 spurns kicks, rejects
25 coops encloses, protects
26 main sea
27 bulwark fortification
27 still always
28 confident from self-assured against
28 purposes plans, i.e. threats of invasion 31 follow arms i.e. take part in military action 34 more requital to greater recompense for
37 bent directed
38 brows i.e. walls/battlements
39 discipline military strategy
40 cull select
40 plots positions, sites
40 advantages i.e. military advantage in attack 43 But we will if necessary to
43 subject to ruled by/answerable to
44 Stay wait
44 embassy message
45 unadvised rashly, without full thought or information 49 indirectly wrongfully
50 lo look
52 England the King of England
52 gentle noble
53 coldly calmly
55 against in preparation for
56 impatient of angered by
58 leisure convenience
58 stayed waited for
59 legions forces
60 expedient rapid
62 Mother-Queen Queen-Mother, i.e. Elinor
63 Ate Greek goddess of discord and revenge
64 niece female relative; actually Elinor's granddaughter and John's niece 64 Blanche of Spain daughter of John's sister Eleanor and Alfonso VIII, King of Castile 65 king's deceased dead king (Richard I)
66 unsettled humours i.e. unruly persons, malcontents; humours four chief bodily fluids (blood, phlegm, choler, black choler) governing mental qualities and disposition 67 inconsiderate reckless
67 voluntaries volunteers
68 ladies' faces i.e. beardless and young
68 spleens tempers, impulses
69 sold ... backs i.e. they have spent everything on armor and military equipment 71 make ... of risk, venture
72 braver more splendid, finer
72 choice selection
73 bottoms keels, i.e. ships
73 waft wafted, i.e. conveyed (suggesting a quick easy journey) 75 scathe damage
76 churlish rough, harsh
77 circumstance details
78 parley negotiate
79 expedition warlike enterprise/haste
82 occasion (needful) circumstances
83 others i.e. troops
85 lineal hereditary
85 own i.e. territories/role of ruler
88 beats drives, forces
89 if that if
91 England's i.e. Arthur's
93 toil i.e. supporting Arthur's cause
93 work duty, undertaking
95 underwrought undermined, sought to overthrow
95 his its
96 sequence of posterity lawful succession
97 Outfaced defied/intimidated
97 infant state young majesty, i.e. Arthur 99 Geoffrey's i.e. Arthur's father's
101 abstract essence, summary
103 brief summary
109 owe own
110 commission warrant
111 articles points/charges
112 supernal judge i.e. God supernal celestial 116 impeach challenge, accuse
118 Alack exclamation of dissatisfaction, regret 119 Excuse ... down preventing (your) usurpation of authority is a good enough excuse 122 Out expression of irritation and scorn
123 check control, discipline
126 Liker in feature more similar in physical appearance 127 in manners (who are) in behavior/character
128 dam mother (
devil and parent were proverbially similar) 130 His ... mother Constance insults Elinor by suggesting that it is likelier that Geoffrey was a bastard than that Arthur might be one 131 an if if
132 blots slanders
133 grandam grandmother
133 blot defile/erase
135 crier announcing officer in a law court/town crier (a mocking reference to Austria) 137 play the devil i.e. make trouble
138 An a if he
138 catch seize, get hold of
138 hide i.e. lion's skin
139 hare ... beard "even hares may pull dead lions by the beard" (proverbial) 141 smoke subject to smoke/disinfect/beat
141 an if
142 look to't beware
143 become earn/befit
145 sightly appropriately
146 Alcides Hercules (Greek hero, one of whose twelve labors involved killing a lion, whose skin he then wore); some editors emend "shoes" to "shows," i.e. distinctive clothing 148 lay on that i.e. inflict blows
149 cracker boaster (playing on the sense of "supposed breaker of shoulders") 149 deafs deafens
151 straight straight away
153 very sum final summary, absolute essence
158 Bretagne Brittany
163 it its
165 fig fruit/something valueless/rude gesture
169 coil turmoil, fuss
170 shames dishonors, embarrasses
173 pearls i.e. tears
174 in ... fee as a bribe for divine support
175 beads teardrops (plays on the sense of "prayer beads on a rosary") 177 monstrous unnatural
180 dominations dominions
180 royalties royal rights
181 eldest son's son eldest grandson
182 Infortunate unfortunate
183 visited punished
184 canon ... law scriptural rule (that the sins of the parents will be visited upon their children) 185 but only
186 Removed distant
187 Bedlam i.e. madwoman
190 her sin implies John, whom Constance suggests was conceived adulterously (in sin) 191 removed issue relative at one remove, i.e. Arthur 191 for because of
192 his injury harm done to Arthur
193 beadle parish officer entitled to punish minor offences, i.e. punisher 195 for because of/instead of
196 unadvised rash, thoughtless
197 title legal claim
199 will willfulness, wish
199 cankered corrupt
200 temperate calm
201 beseems befits
201 presence royal company
201 cry aim shout encouragement (archery term) 202 ill-tuned harsh-sounding
202 repetitions repeated accusations
203 trumpet trumpeter
205 admit grant, recognize
206 warned summoned
207 France, for England i.e. the French king on behalf of Arthur (who should be King of England) 211 gentle peaceful/noble
211 parle negotiation
213 advanced raised, displayed
214 prospect view
215 endamagement damage, detriment
216 bowels entrails
222 stones i.e. city walls
223 waist belt
224 ordinance artillery
225 lime mortar
226 dishabited dislodged
227 bloody power violent, fierce troops
229 much expedient very hasty
230 countercheck rebuke/check to oppose (the course of something) 232 amazed stunned/overwhelmed
232 vouchsafe permit
233 bullets cannonballs