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Robert Bolt’s play A Man for All Seasons presents us with a man called Sir Thomas More. He was a man of integrity who must decide if he is going to remain true to his beliefs or to bend to the will of his powerful king.
King Henry VIII is a man of great ego as well as power. Henry wants to ensure political permanence for the Tudor line but he does not have the male heir that would make that possible. Henry seeks to divorce his wife so that he may have that heir by another woman the Pope. The Pope refuses to condone an annulment for Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon (of Spain). The Pope was already persuaded by Henry to overlook the biblical law to permit Henry to marry Catherine of Aragon (Henry’s sister-in-law) in the first place.
Sir Thomas More ignores Henry’s pleading demands, and ignores the Duke of Norfolk’s friendly advice. Sir Thomas places his family in jeopardy, because he cannot in good conscience endanger his immortal soul by setting aside his religious beliefs and doing what a mere king asks him to do.
This is a story about an English king and his battle with his chancellor. What relevance has A Man for All Seasons to us, today?
King Henry VIII is a man of great ego as well as power. Henry wants to ensure political permanence for the Tudor line but he does not have the male heir that would make that possible. Henry seeks to divorce his wife so that he may have that heir by another woman the Pope. The Pope refuses to condone an annulment for Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon (of Spain). The Pope was already persuaded by Henry to overlook the biblical law to permit Henry to marry Catherine of Aragon (Henry’s sister-in-law) in the first place.
Sir Thomas More ignores Henry’s pleading demands, and ignores the Duke of Norfolk’s friendly advice. Sir Thomas places his family in jeopardy, because he cannot in good conscience endanger his immortal soul by setting aside his religious beliefs and doing what a mere king asks him to do.
This is a story about an English king and his battle with his chancellor. What relevance has A Man for All Seasons to us, today?
