“The fair play of the world”: Games and Machiavellian Politics in Shakespeare’s King John
This paper aims at analysing the different metaphors and references drawn from games in Shakespeare’s King John. Far from being neutral, I argue that these images are underpinned by a deeply Machiavellian view of the world and politics. This is particularly perceptible in the extended bowling metaph...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAES
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Angles |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/angles/2753 |
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| Summary: | This paper aims at analysing the different metaphors and references drawn from games in Shakespeare’s King John. Far from being neutral, I argue that these images are underpinned by a deeply Machiavellian view of the world and politics. This is particularly perceptible in the extended bowling metaphor used by one of the play’s protagonists, Philip Falconbridge, nicknamed the Bastard, in a soliloquy which leads him to adopt a pragmatic and opportunistic course of action which he will apply throughout the play. This also leads him, and the other characters as well, to resort to acts that are characterised as “foul play” in order to secure victory. Ultimately, ludic references throughout the play give rise to a reflection on the respective roles of chance, or providence, and human agency in shaping history. Although some games, like dice, were often used to suggest a providentialist view of history, the ones we find in King John are “mixed games” in which luck and human agency constantly interact. In that perspective as well, the play seems to echo a Machiavellian outlook on history as expressed in the last chapters of The Prince. |
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| ISSN: | 2274-2042 |