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References to Eyes
The most important and ubiquitous motif in King John relates to the play’s various references to eyes. The most obvious instance of this motif occurs in act 4, scene 1, when Hubert prepares to burn Arthur’s eyes out with a glowing-hot iron rod. The gruesome nature of this intended act seems wildly inappropriate for such an innocent young boy who has personally done no harm. It is perhaps for this reason that eyes and vision become increasingly important after this scene. For instance, in the scene that immediately follows, King John makes numerous references to eyes. The scene begins after his recent re-coronation, which he celebrates by inviting his lords to look upon him “with cheerful eyes” (4.2.2). But as his lords reveal their disenchantment with him, John grows increasingly obsessed with eyes and vision. He asks Pembroke and Salisbury, “Why do you bend such solemn brows on me?” (4.2.90), and he later notes the “fearful eye” (3.2.106) of a messenger. As his paranoia intensifies, he lashes out violently at Hubert. He apologizes later, explaining that his vision was corrupted and led him to see “foul imaginary eyes of blood” (4.2.265). Similar references to eyes, vision, and weeping continue to appear frequently throughout acts 4 and 5.
References to Lions
Characters in King John make repeated references to lions. These references almost universally relate to this animal’s symbolic relation to kings and hence to “kingly” virtues such as honor, nobility, and courage. That said, characters deploy the lion in a variety of registers. For instance, the Bastard invokes the lion in a sarcastic mode, making fun of the duke of Austria’s attempt to intimidate him: “O, tremble, for you hear the lion roar” (2.1.294). Elsewhere, however, he proudly refers to his legendary father, who “perforce rob[bed] lions of their hearts” (268). And indeed, it is the Bastard’s father who provides the reason for the numerous references to lions. Often referred to in the play as “Richard Coeur de Lion,” or Richard the Lionhearted, this man is fabled to have killed a lion by reaching down its throat and tearing its heart out—an action that symbolizes the fierceness of his leadership. Yet Richard is also the one who appointed John king of England after his death and created the succession crisis portrayed in the play. His memory therefore hangs over the action, as the frequent reference to lions reminds us.
Metaphors of Sickness
Strewn throughout King John are various references to sickness. These references are typically figurative in nature, though they often have a way of becoming literal. For instance, when Constance learns that Philip has abandoned Arthur’s cause and pledged allegiance to England, she declares, “I am sick and capable of fears” (3.1.12). Her rhetoric of illness foreshadows her later grief about Arthur’s capture, which the men around her pathologize as a mental illness: she has evidently gone “mad,” literally sick with grief. The other key example pertains to King John, whose anxiety has grown so intense by act 5 that he likens his internal experience to sickness. In act 5, scene 3, laments, “This tyrant fever burns me up” (5.3.14). This expression of illness directly foreshadows the fatal condition that will shortly plague him when he’s poisoned by a monk. The poison causes an intense fever that he later describes in a near-crazed state: “There is so hot a summer in my bosom / That all my bowels crumble up to dust” (5.7.30–31). Ultimately, these and other references to sickness throughout the play may also be read as allusions to the state of the kingdom, which at one point the Bastard likens to “a sick-fallen beast” (4.3.153).
