Cardinal Pandulph: Rome's Political Operator
First appears: Act 3, Scene 1
Cardinal Pandulph is the Pope's representative in the play, and Shakespeare's portrait of him is not flattering. He excommunicates John and then uses the threat of that excommunication to manipulate France into war.
He is also honest about what he is doing. His argument to Lewis the Dauphin about why killing John is not murder (since John is excommunicate) is a piece of moral casuistry (that is, using technical arguments to justify what is actually just convenient) that the play presents with considerable irony.
When John agrees to submit to Rome, Pandulph switches back and tries to stop the French invasion he helped start. He has made himself useful to everyone and therefore indispensable to none.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“So makest thou faith an enemy to faith; And like a civil war set'st oath to oath.”
Cardinal Pandulph — Act 3, Scene 1
“How green you are and fresh in this old world!”
Cardinal Pandulph — Act 3, Scene 4
Themes
Other Characters in King John
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