Thou art not conquer'd; beauty's ensign yet
Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,
And death's pale flag is not advanced there"--

show with what a tender beauty the great mind feels when touched.

The Nurse gives an animal comedy to some of the scenes. She is a
tragical figure. She is the person to whom Juliet has to turn for help
at dangerous moments. There are few things sadder than the sight of the
fine soul turning to the vulgar soul in moments of need. One of the few
things sadder is the sight of wisdom failing to stop tragedy, as it
fails here, through hotness of the blood and unhappy chance. Some have
felt that the spark, Mercutio, is drawn from Shakespeare's self. Every
character in the play is drawn from Shakespeare's self. Shakespeare
found Goneril and Juliet in his mind, just as he found Mercutio and
Friar Laurence. If he may be identified with any of his characters, it
must be with those whose wisdom is like the many-coloured wisdom that
gives the plays their unity. He is in calm, wise, gentle people who
speak largely, from a vision detached from the world, as Friar Laurence
speaks--

"For nought so vile that on the earth doth live
But to the earth some special good doth give;
Nor aught so good, but, strain'd from that fair use,
Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse:
Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied,
And vice sometimes by action dignified."

_King John._

_Written._ (?)

_Published_, in the first folio, 1623.

_Source of the Plot._ Shakespeare's tragedy is founded on a play
called _The Troublesome Raigne of King John_ (author not known),
which was printed (after stage performance) in 1591. Some people
think that Shakespeare wrote _The Troublesome Raigne_. There are
some glimmerings of his mind here and there in it; but not many.
Whether he wrote it or not he certainly made free use of it in
writing _King John_. He took from it with a bold hand, whenever he
wished to spare himself mechanical labour. His other sources were
the historians, Raphael Holinshed, Edward Hall, and Fabian.

_The Fable._ King John has made himself King of England. Prince
Arthur, who claims to be the rightful king (he is the son of King
John's elder brother), causes the French King to support his claim.
King John declares war against the French King.

After some fighting in France