-therefore, good
mother,
To whom am I beholding for these limbs?
-Bastard
King John Act
I, Scene i, Line 239
Yes folks, this is Bastard talking. No, not the Bastard of
Orleans, and not even the bastard; this one’s one of the Brits and he’s simply Bastard. Apparently he is
the bastard son of Richard the Lionhearted, who was the brother and predecessor of King
John. And this is the scene where Bastard is confronting his mother and asking who
his true father is. He’s going to get his answer a few lines down. The question has arisen for Bastard because It seems
that he is a fine physical specimen while his brother and his supposed
father are, well, not so much fine physical specimens. King Richard, on the
other hand, was as well endowed with an impressive body as Bastard is. In fact,
earlier in the scene both King John and his mother Elizabeth (who’s also the
mother of Richard) remark on how much Bastard reminds them of late, great
Richard the Lionhearted. And yes, Richard is exactly who his mother will confess to being Bastard's true father.
Now from what I can understand from my readings, Bastard is a
pure concoction of Will’s imagination, a character needed for the play, not a
true historical figure. Richard had no children, legitimate or otherwise. In fact, according to Isaac Asimov in Asimov's Guide To Shakespeare, Richard may have had a lion's heart, but it was a heart much more interested in men than women, so he wasn't having any kids, legitimate or otherwise. Hey, don't look at me, I'm just telling you what Isaac said.
Here's a pair that could beat a full house, and I can tell you that these two aren't wondering one little bit who they're beholding to for their limbs. They're much more interested in who's gonna get them more cake, especially that guy on the right.
No comments:
Post a Comment