King John Power Quotes

As you can see in this line, the Church doesn't need a vast army to wield power. Religious belief was an even more potent force in the medieval period than it is today. By sending out this call to the devout citizens of England, telling them they will be "blessed" if they revolt against this "heretic"—and that the person who kills that heretic will become a saint, for crying out loud—Cardinal Pandolf is able to wield tremendous power. Sometimes, the right words, coming from the right person, can be more powerful than an army. (Of course, this is partly because those words can inspire new armies to appear.)

In these lines, King John shows that he has learned something about the limits of power. Earlier in the play, he had thought that the best way to keep himself safe was to murder young Arthur, thus removing the one person who could challenge his legal right to the throne. What he forgot to take into account was the outrage this action would provoke. As it turns out, his decision to have Arthur imprisoned and executed ends up provoking the exact same reaction—a revolt—that it was supposed to prevent. Could the lesson simply be that no individual can wield unlimited power, because the world is just too complicated and unpredictable? Or could John have been able to wield more power if he had had more foresight?

In these lines, Pandolf places great confidence in his own power of speech. His words made Louis mount an expedition against England, and they also made King John surrender his crown to the Pope. Now he thinks that his words will be able to make Louis back down from his expedition. Is this a realistic hope? Why or why not?