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Madam, I would not wish a better father.
Some sins do bear their privilege on earth,
And so doth yours; your fault was not your folly.
Needs must you lay your heart at his dispose,
Subjected tribute to commanding love,
Against whose fury and unmatchèd force
The aweless lion could not wage the fight,
Nor keep his princely heart from Richard’s hand.
. . .
Ay, my mother,
With all my heart I thank thee for my father. (1.1.260–67, 69–70)
The Bastard addresses these lines to his mother, Lady Faulconbridge, at the end of act 1, scene 1. By this point, it has already been revealed that Richard the Lionhearted was his father, and now the Bastard has just confirmed it with his mother. But when Lady Faulconbridge laments her transgression against her husband, the Bastard cheers her up by saying that he’s happy to have such royal patronage. In fact, she was only being an obedient subject to her sovereign by sleeping with him. In this way, the Bastard implies that his conception was legitimate. Either way, he expresses his pride in his noble inheritance by referencing the legend in which Richard killed an “aweless lion” by reaching down its throat and tearing out its heart.
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail
And say there is no sin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To say there is no vice but beggary.
Since kings break faith upon commodity,
Gain, be my lord, for I will worship thee! (2.1.593–98)
These lines conclude the Bastard’s famous soliloquy on “commodity,” which in this context refers to self-interest. Leading up to this point, the Bastard has been musing on the fact that noblemen seem to act not, as might be expected, in accordance with chivalric ideals. Rather, they act primarily out of their own self-interest. This comes as a surprise to the Bastard, who has only recently been knighted and is still new to the ways of the nobility. Initially, he seems disgusted by the privileging of self-interest over honor. However, by the end of his speech he acknowledges that his disgust stems from the fact that, even though recently knighted, he’s still a poor man. Once he gains wealth, he says, he will no doubt also take part in worshiping a new lord: “gain.”
Be great in act, as you have been in thought.
Let not the world see fear and sad distrust
Govern the motion of a kingly eye.
Be stirring as the time; be fire with fire.
Threaten the threat’ner, and outface the brow
Of bragging horror. So shall inferior eyes,
That borrow their behaviors from the great,
Grow great by your example and put on
The dauntless spirit of resolution.
. . .
What, shall they seek the lion in his den
And fright him there? And make him tremble there? (5.1.45–53, 57–58)
King John follows the Bastard’s trajectory from a freshly minted nobleman to a truly noble knight. Whereas he begins the play as a slightly awkward and even mischievous figure, ignorant of the ways of the nobility, by the final act he has matured into the play’s leading figure of honor and loyalty. The result of this transformation is plainly evident in this stirring speech he addresses to John, attempting to rouse the king to action. Aside from the inspiring nature of his patriotic rhetoric, it’s significant to note the Bastard’s reference to “the motion of a kingly eye.” He’s urging John to assume a commanding gaze that reflects his kingly status. Though unbeknownst to the Bastard, these words speak powerfully to the obsession with paranoid vision that John has exhibited since act 4. The Bastard also refers to John figuratively as a “lion.” This animal is traditionally associated with kings, but the reference is also to John’s elder brother, Richard the Lionhearted, who is the one who entailed the throne to John in the first place. In other words, the Bastard hits all the notes necessary to revive the spirits of this otherwise irresolute king.
