Histories • c. 1596
King John: Modern English Translation & Study Guide
King John defends his right to the throne against French challenges and papal disputes.
Read King John Side by Side
Every scene pairs the public-domain original with a line-matched, original modern-English paraphrase. Choose a scene below to begin reading.
- Act 1, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. KING JOHN'S palace.
- Act 2, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. France. Before Angiers.
- Act 3, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. The French King's pavilion.
- Act 3, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. The same. Plains near Angiers.
- Act 3, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. The same.
- Act 3, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. The same. KING PHILIP'S tent.
- Act 4, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. A room in a castle.
- Act 4, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. KING JOHN'S palace.
- Act 4, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. Before the castle.
- Act 5, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. KING JOHN'S palace.
- Act 5, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. LEWIS's camp at St. Edmundsbury.
- Act 5, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. The field of battle.
- Act 5, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. Another part of the field.
King John study pathways
Original text source: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, MIT HTML edition. MIT states that its HTML versions of the plays are placed in the public domain.