SOURCE: Elliot, John R. “Shakespeare and the Double Image of King John.” Shakespeare Studies 1 (1965): 64-84.
In the following essay, Elliot argues that Shakespeare's King John reveals the playwright's understanding of the Elizabethans ambiguous and complex interpretations of King John. Elliot shows that while the play's original audiences most likely would have sympathized with John as a nationalist and as a Protestant martyr, Shakespeare's John is also depicted as a usurper and potential murderer.
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