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Summary
Hubert enters with executioners, and he tells them to hide themselves and be ready. Hubert calls in Arthur, who complains about being a young gentleman rather than a simple shepherd. Hubert becomes upset, touched by Arthur’s innocence, and he begins to feel merciful toward the boy. He presents Arthur with a paper that says Hubert has been instructed to put out Arthur’s eyes. Arthur asks him if he must do it, considering what friends they have become. Hubert says he has sworn to do it and must follow through.
When Hubert calls out the executioners, Arthur grows more frightened, but he tells Hubert he needn’t employ such scary men, for he will submit to the punishment without struggle. Hubert sends the executioners away and tells Arthur to prepare himself. Arthur begs Hubert to spare him, pointing out that even the fire refuses to help Hubert by not growing hot enough to heat the iron. Finally, Hubert relents and says he won’t hurt Arthur, but he reminds the boy that he had promised he would, so John mustn’t find out that he’s still alive.
Meanwhile, John enters his court with Pembroke and Salisbury, and he ascends the throne. He speaks of his second coronation, which he has just ordered for the apparent purpose of making his lords swear allegiance again. Pembroke and Salisbury think it was a wasteful and ridiculous ceremony. John says he still thinks it was worthwhile, and he promises them the from here on out he’ll do whatever they advise.
They ask that Arthur be released, both because it would please the commoners and because Arthur poses little threat to his rule. John agrees, and as Hubert enters, he takes him aside. Pembroke and Salisbury confer about how they heard Hubert had been hired to assassinate Arthur, and they fear the worst. John returns and explains that Arthur has just died. Salisbury and Pembroke are displeased, and they suggest that foul play contributed to Arthur’s death. The lords announce their intention to attend to Arthur’s burial, and they depart.
John comments that he now sees that violence against others won’t secure his reign; his nobles are now furious, which weakens his power. A messenger enters and reports the approach of a huge French army. John wonders why his mother didn’t report that the French were mobilizing. The messenger explains that Eleanor has recently died, as has Arthur’s mother, Constance. John is shocked and upset by this news.
The Bastard, accompanied by a citizen, enters to report the results of his expedition to the monasteries. He collected the money, but as he traveled among the common people, he heard all kinds of rumors. The citizen he’s brought with him predicted that John would give up his crown before noon on the next Ascension Day. John orders the citizen to be hanged on that same day then sends him away with Hubert.
John asks the Bastard if he had heard the news; the Bastard says he knows about the angry lords and the approach of the French army. John asks him to seek out the lords and try to win them back, and the Bastard gladly departs on that errand. Hubert reenters and tells of a sign the people have seen: four moons fixed in the sky with one circling around them. It bodes ill, he says, and the people are making dreadful prophecies. He reports that they all mourn Arthur’s death.
John asks Hubert why he convinced him to murder Arthur, whom he didn’t want dead. Hubert denies the accusation, but John insists that he tricked him into issuing the order. Hubert shows him the paper ordering Arthur’s death, written in the king’s hand. John persists in saying that it’s Hubert’s fault: he is so ugly, so marked by nature, that the murder wouldn’t have even occurred to him if he had not been in Hubert’s presence at the time. John accuses Hubert repeatedly, then bemoans the departure of his lords and the arrival of foreign powers.
Hubert finally interrupts him to report that Arthur is still alive. He accuses the king of slandering him by picking on his physical appearance, for he has a purer heart than those who would think to kill an innocent child. Suddenly delighted, John urges Hubert to report the news to the other lords. He asks him to forgive his harshness, saying he spoke out of passion.
Analysis
The first two scenes of act 4 mark a reversal of fortune for John, and in a sense this reversal plays out just as Pandolf has previously envisioned. Back in act 3, scene 4, Pandolf predicted that John would have Arthur killed, and that this act would cause unrest among courtiers and commoners alike. Just as Pandolf foresaw, John has ordered the execution of Arthur, and now Hubert prepares to carry it through. Though he doesn’t end up killing the young prince, he lies about it to the king, who then announces it to his courtiers, who then further spread the news abroad. The universal furor this news inspires is deeply unsettling to John, and we see him becoming increasingly unhinged as he lashes out at Hubert in scene 2, blaming him for the entire debacle. Added to the trouble surrounding Arthur, John also learns from a messenger of his mother’s death, news of which causes him to spiral into indecisiveness. And to top it off, the French army is now approaching on his territory, freshly reinforced and looking for a fight.
It’s also notable that, for the first time in the play, John is confronted directly with omens that prophesy the end of his rule. The first of these omens relates to a man named Peter of Pomfrey, whom the Bastard has placed under arrest and brought to court. According to the Bastard’s report, he found Peter speaking before a large audience, proclaiming “in rude harsh-sounding rhymes, / That ere the next Ascension Day at noon, / Your highness should deliver up your crown” (4.2.150–52). Disturbed by this news, John orders the man’s execution on the very day he’s predicted for the king’s downfall. Though John tries to dismiss Peter’s omen, he’s soon faced with Hubert’s description of another unsettling incident: “My lord, they say five moons were seen tonight— / Four fixed, and the fifth did whirl about / The other four in wondrous motion” (4.2.182–84). The specific implications of this vision are not spelled out in the play, but the unnaturalness of this type of astrological phenomenon is clearly disturbing, and Elizabethan audiences would have likely understood it as a sign of impending disaster for the kingdom.
As John’s downfall begins to look more and more probable, it’s important to note the increasing importance of eyes in the play. Most obviously, act 4 begins with a scene where Hubert threatens to burn out poor Arthur’s eyes with a searing iron. But the focus on eyes and on looking continues to play an important role in the following scene, where King John’s eyes are figuratively darting around like a paranoiac, looking for signs of danger. For example, when the messenger arrives with news of the French army’s advancement, the king casts a suspicious eye on the messenger’s look: “A fearful eye thou hast” (4.2.106). Later, in his argument with Hubert, he says in anger, “Out of my sight, and never see me more” (4.2.242)—only to turn around soon after in repentance, saying: “Forgive my comment . . . / for my rage was blind, / And foul imaginary eyes of blood / Presented thee more hideous than thou art” (4.2.263–66). Deeply haunted by his order to have Arthur’s eyes burned out, John’s own vision seems to grow increasingly unreliable.
