s usually
dated by the text critics in about 1588-89. It is acknowledged that the
old play is based almost entirely upon the second edition of Holinshed's
_Chronicles_, which was published in 1587, and that the Falconbridge
incident has no foundation in that source, it being transposed from a
portion of Hall's _Chronicles_ relating to French history of an earlier
time. If the original author's intention had been to dramatise the reign
or character of King John, why should he have transposed incidents and
characters from French history in no way connected with John's reign,
and also have made one of these characters practically the protagonist
of the action? Bearing this fact in mind, in conjunction with the
evident date of composition of the old play in or about 1588-89, at the
time when Perrot was recalled from Ireland and was being accused of
disloyalty by his political enemies, it appears evident that the author,
or authors, of _The Troublesome Raigne_ had Perrot's interests in mind
in its composition, and that its intention and personal point were
recognised by the public upon its presentation, and also that it was
published and rewritten in 1591, at the time when Perrot was sent to the
Tower, in order further to stir up sympathy for his cause by a still
more palpable and heroic characterisation.

In recasting the old play in 1591 at the most crucial period of Perrot's
troubles, Shakespeare--evidently cognizant of its original intention and
of the interpretation placed upon it by the theatre-going public--still
further enhanced the character of Falconbridge as the protagonist of the
drama, while he minimised the character of King John and quite neglected
to explain the reason for much of the plot and action, which is quite
clear in the old play. The neglect of historical and dramatic values,
and the absence of analytical characterisation shown by Shakespeare in
this play when it is considered as a dramatisation of the reign of King
John, has been noticed by many past critics, who have not suspected the
possibility of an underlying intention in its production. Mr. Edward
Rose, in his excellent essay upon Shakespeare as an adapter, writes:

"Shakespeare has no doubt kept so closely to the lines of the older
play because it was a favorite with his audience and they had grown
to accept its history as absolute fact; but one can hardly help
thinking that, had he boldly thrown aside these trammels and taken