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Summary
Outside the town of Angiers, King Philip of France walks with the Dauphin Louis, Constance, Arthur, and the duke of Austria. Arthur and Constance thank Austria for joining the forces gathered against the English. Philip urges his men to ready themselves for an attack on Angiers if the town doesn’t swear allegiance to Arthur. Chatillon returns from his journey to England and urges Philip to turn the troops to a mightier battle, against the gathered English forces who are right behind him. Led by King John, who is accompanied by Eleanor and Lady Blanche of Spain, these forces are enormous and even include the bastard son of Richard the Lionhearted.
John enters with Eleanor, Blanche, the Bastard, and Pembroke. John offers peace to the French, but only if they accept his royal lineage. Philip also pledges peace, but only if John takes his forces back to England without a fight and yields the English throne to Arthur. John asks Philip what has made him the judge of the situation, and Philip replies that heaven above has made him guardian of Arthur and a champion of his rights.
Eleanor interrupts, calling Arthur a bastard. Constance replies angrily, accusing Eleanor of infidelity to her husband, Henry II. Austria and the Bastard then exchange insults, until Philip interrupts both parties. He lists Arthur’s claims to the English throne, which include full possession of English lands in Ireland and France. John says he would rather fight than relinquish the throne. Eleanor calls to Arthur, trying to lure him away from the French, but Constance mocks Arthur to keep him in line. The sweet-tempered Arthur weeps, wishing he weren’t in the middle of the argument. Constance and Eleanor exchange harsh words again; Constance insists that the law says Arthur is the rightful king and accuses Eleanor of having committed adultery in giving birth to John, whom she again calls a bastard.
Philip silences them again and suggests that they ask the citizens of Angiers whether they will accept John or Arthur’s claim to the throne. John asks the citizens to open their gates, threatening destruction otherwise. Philip, speaking for Arthur, tells the citizens of Arthur’s claim to the throne and asks that they accept him instead. The citizens acknowledge that they are England’s subjects, but they won’t open the gates until either John or Arthur can prove he is the rightful king. John offers his crown and his troops as proof of his leadership; Philip says as many men stand against him to challenge that claim. The citizens repeat their decision, so John and Philip urge their armies on and exit to battle.
A French and an English herald appear at Angiers’s gates, announcing the bloody outcome of the struggles and ask that the gates of the city be opened for their respective leaders. However, the citizens of Angiers have seen that the armies are equally matched, with neither able to prove itself superior. Therefore, they will keep their gates closed until one side is victorious. Each king, with his train, reenters the scene, threatening to bring about the deaths of more soldiers in battle. They appeal to the citizens, who again refuse to open their doors.
The Bastard comments that the citizens of Angiers flout both Philip and John, and they stand on their walls, watching the battle below as though a play is being performed for them. He urges the two armies to merge temporarily and punish Angiers for its audacity. Once they break Angiers, they can dissolve their alliance and continue to fight one another. John likes the suggestion, and Philip agrees.
The citizens call to the kings and urge them not to follow this path of destruction, but instead to listen to another idea. A citizen named Hubert de Burgh points to Blanche, the daughter of the king of Spain and a niece to King John. Then he points to young Louis, who would make a good match for her. Such an ambitious marriage would join several kingdoms in bonds of peace, and it would open the gates of Angiers much more easily than war. The Bastard comments to himself that Hubert idea surprises him; his success at urging each side on to war has been trumped.
Eleanor advises John to agree to the match, for such a tie with France would ensure John’s hold on the Crown. John tells the French that if Louis likes Blanche, he will offer a dowry of several English-held French territories. Philip asks Louis how he feels about Blanche, and Louis replies that he is transfixed by her. For her part, Blanche pledges to do as John commands. Both kings agree to the match, and Louis and Blanche join hands and kiss.
Philip asks the citizens of Angiers to open their gates, then he looks around for Constance. Louis thinks she must be in her tent, upset about the turn of events. John says they’ll fix things by giving Arthur a dukedom. All depart except the Bastard, who comments on the madness of kings. To block Arthur’s claim to the throne, King John readily gave land away to Louis. This expression of self-interest converted an honorable war into a vile and weak peace. But the “commodity” of self-interest has not yet wooed him, the Bastard declares, and while he’s still poor, he will rail against the rich. But because even kings are willing to break their allegiances when they have something to gain from it, he acknowledges that he, too, will worship the “lord” of gain.
Analysis
The play’s opening act has already signaled the importance of women, and especially mothers. As the extended scene that constitutes act 2 gets going, we soon meet Constance, the mother of Arthur and the woman whom John’s mother, Eleanor, disparaged in act 1. Their emotionally charged interaction in this scene runs parallel to the more directly “political” interaction among the men. Thus, while Philip and John each try to assert their authority by convincing the citizens of Angiers to open their gates, Constance and Eleanor engage in a verbal sparring match. They accuse each other of having carried out several of the greatest crimes of a married woman, including adultery and giving birth to a bastard child. The force of their vitriol is impressive and terrifying, and as their argument segues seamlessly into the larger battle between Philip and John, Shakespeare seems to indicate the influence that commanding women can have over powerful men.
Much of the discourse among the men in this scene involves verbal boasting and jockeying for rhetorical supremacy. Each king gives a long, refined speech to the citizens of Angiers, hoping to sway them to his side. Eventually, the French and the English arrive at a diplomatic impasse and give themselves over to fighting. However, when their armies turn out to be equally matched, they must find another solution. At this point in the scene, the mood shifts from individual boasting to political scheming. The Bastard presents one option, which would be for the French and English forces to forge a temporary alliance and work together to bring the citizens of Angiers to heel, only then to resume their sparring. Whereas this strategy centers a conventional notion that righteous war is an honorable pursuit, an alternative soon presents itself as a citizen of the soon-to-be-besieged city suggests a more lasting political alliance: namely, the marriage of Blanche and Louis. This solution requires that both kings give something up. John loses some of the territory he’s been fighting for. Philip, meanwhile, loses face as he demonstrates a certain fickleness in his quick turn away from Arthur. Even so, both parties also win a lasting peace.
As he observes these proceedings, the recently knighted Bastard offers running commentary in which he discusses what he’s learning about the nobility. He was eager to join this campaign in France, and he participates actively in the negotiations between the French and the English. He also shows an innate capacity for bravado as he goes toe to toe with the duke of Austria, heckling the man and trading quick-witted insults. The Bastard also shows a penchant for strategy, which comes out when he suggests the temporary alliance between the French and English forces. He’s pleased when his idea gets traction, but then disappointed when the marriage solution puts an end to the battle. However, the derailing of the battle also teaches him an important lesson: the aristocracy is driven entirely by self-interest, or what he calls “commodity.” In the speech that closes the scene, the Bastard meditates on how political self-interest has shifted the terms “from a resolved and honorable war, / To a most base and vile-concluded peace” (2.1.585–86). Though evidently disgusted, the Bastard also knows he’ll take this lesson to heart. Ultimately, then, he declaims: “Gain, be my lord, for I will worship thee!” (2.1.598).
