The Life and Death of King John, a history play by William Shakespeare, dramatises the reign of John, King of England , son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and father of Henry III of England. It is believed to have been written in the mid-1590s but was not published until it appeared in the First Folio in 1623. Shakespeare's play has a close relationship to another history play, The Troublesome Reign of King John . The consensus among modern scholars is that this other play was earlier and provided a source and model for Shakespeare. There is, however, a strong line... of oppositional criticism that argues for the priority of Shakespeare's play, beginning with Peter Alexander and continuing with the work of E. A. J. Honigmann. Other probable sources of note include Holinshed's Chronicles, John Foxe's Acts and Monuments and Matthew Paris's Historia Maior. Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor, editors of the Oxford edition of The Complete Works, date the play to 1595 or 1596. The play was in existence by 1598, as it is mentioned by Francis Meres in his list of Shakespearean plays published in that year, Palladis Tamia.
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