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Summary
In the English court, King John hands his crown ceremoniously over to Pandolf. Representing the authority of the pope, Pandolf returns the crown to John, signifying that John now rules at the permission of the pope. John urges Pandolf to keep his end of the bargain by convincing the French to give up their attack. As Pandolf departs, the Bastard enters to report the success of the French offensive. The French have won the countryside and are now in London, having been aided by John’s nobles. John marvels that his nobles didn’t return after Arthur was reported alive. The Bastard then reveals that Arthur was found dead. John falters, but the Bastard urges him to be strong and resolved in the face of these problems. John confides that he has made a deal with Pandolf, and the Bastard, upset about this new alliance, urges the king to fight. John permits the Bastard to take command of his forces.
At the French camp, Louis the Dauphin marches with Salisbury, Pembroke, Lord Bigot, and the French Count Melun. Louis asks for the agreement with the English lords to be written down for posterity. Salisbury assures Louis that they won’t break with him, even though he and other sons of England have shown their fickleness by coming to march with England’s enemy. Salisbury then pauses to weep for his nation, saying he wishes he could avoid having to witness two armies clash on its soil. Louis compliments Salisbury on his noble sentiments and urges him onward to a successful fight.
Pandolf enters, announces that John has been reconciled with Rome, and orders Louis to withdraw his army. Louis refuses, saying he is too high-born to be ordered about by any other power. Pandolf urged the war on, he says, and now the momentum is too great to be stopped. He invokes Arthur, reminding Pandolf that he takes up the young prince’s claim to the throne and insisting he won’t back down just because John has made peace with Rome.
The Bastard then enters and asks to speak to Louis. Speaking for John, the Bastard declares that the king has prepared an army that will thoroughly destroy France’s tiny army, and he tells the English nobles that even their wives have joined the English forces. Louis calls for the attack, and the Bastard threatens Louis.
Analysis
Act 5 opens with King John seeking a new path to legitimacy. Now that so many of his nobles, spurred on by news of Arthur’s death, have turned coat and allied themselves with the French, John needs to reassert his claim to the throne. With no other option available, he appeals to the Catholic Church. Having previously scorned the power of Rome, John now submits to its authority. In addition to confirming his legitimacy, he hopes this act will also convince Pandolf to go back to the French and force them to call of their invasion. After all, the main reason the French are now marching on England is that Pandolf told them to. Given the religious and political climates of Shakespeare’s time, this act is—as the Bastard comprehends—a clear statement of John’s uncertainty and weakness; if he was ever an impressive or powerful figure, he is now suffering a quick decline. Like John’s effort to win back his nobles by reporting that Arthur was not murdered, this ploy comes too late to have the desired result.
We get confirmation that John is too late when the action shifts to the French camp, where it is now Louis’s turn to refuse Pandolf’s authority. At this point, the audience will recall that the French cause has two interrelated but distinct motives. The first motive is linked to King Philip, whom Pandolf badgered into withdrawing his alliance with John back in act 2, scene 1. The second motive is linked to Louis, whom Pandolf encouraged to pursue Arthur’s claim for himself back in act 3, scene 4. The problem here, then, is that Pandolf’s influence is now at cross-purposes. When he orders Louis to desist, he does so as an emissary of the pope. However, this order arguably applies to King Philip more than Louis. As for the dauphin, he hasn’t previously been answerable to Rome, and he refuses to start now: “Am I Rome’s slave?” (5.2.97). Having been previously emboldened by Pandolf, Louis resists the authority of Rome now that he is so close to gaining the throne.
It’s also worth noting that the Bastard’s importance and influence in the play has grown steadily since the beginning. After he was knighted, we saw him struggling to learn the ins and outs of what it means to be a noble. He participated actively in discussions of political strategy. He also demonstrated a degree of boldness in the way he heckled the duke of Austria and pushed for the English and French armies to fight. By act 5, the Bastard has become instrumental as a supporter of King John, and he demonstrates his status by speaking with ever-greater confidence and gravitas. In act 5, scene 1, he shows an impressive capacity to embolden the king and sway him toward military action. Then, in the following scene, he shows up at the French camp and roundly rebukes the English turncoats there. His speeches have gotten longer, and his vitriol is now even more impressive in its breathlessness. Even Louis, who has just openly scolded the pope’s legate, succumbs to the force of the Bastard’s speech: “We grant thou canst outscold us” (5.2.160).
