Today’s Totally Random
Lines
In
sooth, good friend, your father might have kept
This
calf, bred from his cow, from all the world;
In
sooth, he might: then, if he were my brother’s,
My
brother might not claim him; nor your father,
Being
none of his, refuse him: this concludes,--
My
mother’s son did get your father’s heir;
Your
father’s heir must have your father’s land.
King John
King John Act I, Scene
i, Line 123
Oh boy! So
here’s what we have. Two brothers have come before the king to have him
arbitrate a dispute between them. The younger brother, Robert, claims that the
older one, known throughout this play as Bastard, is not only a bastard, but
the son of King John’s deceased brother King Richard. Further, he claims that
his father knew this and left all his estate to him, the younger brother.
Today’s
lines is King John’s ruling. He’s talking to Robert and saying that it’s
possible that the father knew that Bastard was a bastard, but kept it a secret.
Therefore, since King Richard wasn’t going to claim Bastard as his own son, the
father wasn’t about to disown Bastard. Conclusion: Though King Richard may have
begotten the father’s heir, Bastard is still that heir and therefore must inherit
the father’s estate.
In
the end though, even though the ruling went against the younger son Robert,
everyone one turns out happy. Why? Because King John, realizing that Bastard
probably is the son of his brother Richard, offers Bastard a knighthood if he
will disown his father’s estate. Bastard is thrilled to get the knighthood and
younger brother Robert gets what he came for. Like I said, everybody’s happy.
Got
it?
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