A Defense For Sir Thomas More

1049 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Henry the 8th and the catholic church

A Defense For Sir Thomas More Preparatory notes: Act One, Scene seven: -part one- King Henry visits More at his home, having sailed there on his new battleship. After pulling More aside to have a talk and discussing several topics, King Henry suddenly broaches the subject of the divorce. More says that he cannot agree with the divorce, and thus would rather not talk about it than outright disagree with the king. “That you should put away Queen Catherine, Sire? Oh, alas as I think of it I see so clearly that I can not come with Your Grace that my endeavor is not to think of it at all.” The king is disappointed and asks More why he would deny him his wish as it is so important to him. More replies that he would gladly cut off his arm if it would mean that he could agree with the king, and politely reminds him that when he agreed to take the Great Seal, the king made a promise not to badger him about the divorce. The king reluctantly agrees and tries to convince More by quoting Leviticus, "Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife." Leviticus, Chapter eighteen, Verse sixteen He also rebuffs More’s protests that he is not a suitable man to meddle in those matters by asking if one needed someone else to make such judgements, to which More responds by asking why would the king need his support then. The king says that More is different from the others who follow him, and then changes the subject suddenly to music, which More is relieved at. After a while, the king states that he would not tolerate any opposition from More regarding the matter of the divorce, and then promises More he would not press him to support him, but would not take kindly to any sort of action taken against him by More. “...No oppositio... ... middle of paper ... ...nts Norfolk to take part in the campaign as since he is More’s friend, it would make the campaign seem less malicious. Cromwell threatens him and Norfolk leaves. Cromwell turns on Rich and berates him for not mentioning the fact Norfolk was present earlier. As Cromwell leaves, Matthew offers to be in Rich’s service. Act Two, scene four Chapuys hints an alliance with Spain would be profitable for More. He tries to give him a letter from the king of Spain, but More refuses to take it and when Chapuys says it is just a letter of admiration from the king of Spain for the stand More has taken against the divorce. More, irritated, denies having made such a stand and Works Cited http://www.americanidea.org/americanidea.org/Upcoming_Programs_files/A%20Man%20For%20All%20Seasons.pdf http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/amanforallseasons/section8.rhtml

Show More
Related

  • King Henry Iv Part 1

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hal’s remark to his father indicates a now strong, independent mind, predicting that Douglas and Hotspur will not accept Henry’s offer because of their love for fighting. Henry’s reply in turn indicates a change in attitude towards his son, a newfound respect. Acknowledging Hal’s prediction, the king orders preparations to begin, and we see he has his own set of solid moral values: knowing that their ‘cause is just’ helps him to reconcile with his highly honourable conscience that there is indeed cause for war. Still maintained is the conflict between the very format of the text, with Hal and Henry’s conversation held in formal verse typical of the court world, in which Hal is now firmly embedded. Falstaff, however, sustains his equally typical prose speech, which indicates to the audience the enduring division between the court and tavern worlds.

    Read More

  • Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet Essay

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry’s father, a strict, war-obsessed man essentially dictates Henry’s life, distancing the two as Henry continues to oppose his father’s views. Because of his father’s controlling ways, there is little love to be lost between the father and son. This animosity between them can be seen when Henry is about to leave his apartment to retrieve the family photos of his Japanese friend Keiko. His father tells him that should Henry leave to help Keiko, he “[is] no longer part of this family” (Ford 185).

    Read More

  • Hero’s Journey: Sir Gawain and Thomas Becket

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every hero goes through multiple stages accompanying many obstacles on his or her journey. Although the journeys may differ in detail, structurally, they resemble a sound format. Along the designed adventures, the heroes come into contact with characters that possess fixed personalities or “archetypes.” The stages and archetypes of stories are somewhat predictable, but may take shape in peculiar forms. Both exemplifying heroic characteristics, Sir Gawain from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by J.R.R. Tolkien and Thomas Becket from Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot structurally go on the same archetypical journey, but diverge in the lessons they learn and where the characters start and end in their journeys.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – A Test of Chivalry

    2442 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – A Test of Chivalry Essay with Outline: Loyalty, courage, honor, purity, and courtesy are all attributes of a knight that displays chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly a story of the test of these attributes. In order to have a true test of these attributes, there must first be a knight worthy of being tested, meaning that the knight must possess chivalric attributes to begin with. Sir Gawain is admittedly not the best knight around. He says "I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; / and the loss of my life [will] be the least of any" (Sir Gawain, l. 354-355).

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain and Green Knight Essays: Triumph or Failure?

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sir Gawain is presented as a noble knight who is the epitome of chivalry; he is loyal, honest and above all, courteous. He is the perfect knight; he is so recognised by the various characters in the story and, for all his modesty, implicitly in his view of himself. To the others his greatest qualities are his knightly courtesy and his success in battle. To Gawain these are important, but he seems to set an even higher value on his courage and integrity, the two central pillars of his manhood.

    Read More

  • Finding Hercules in Much Ado About Nothing

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Don Pedro:   "...I will in the interim undertake one of Hercules' labours, which is, to bring Signior Benedick and the Lady Beatrice into a mountain of affection th' one with th' other.  I would fain have it a match, and I doubt not but to fashion it if you three will but minister such assistance as I shall give you direction.

    Read More

  • Treaty Between Britain and France in The Life of King Henry V by William Shakespeare

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    The marriage between King Henry and Katherine is nothing more than just a medieval political union that brought succession and power in Europe. It seems that Shakespeare played with the interpretation of what’s personal and political involving a person’s union or marriage as the case may be. It can be seen as the personal evolves the political, and then the political evolves the personal. Shakespeare successfully acknowledge the portrayal of marriage in a meaningful characterizations. Both King Henry and Katherine has their own separate point-of-views from two different cultures and way of living, towards conflicts such as power struggles they had in that particular era.

    Read More

  • Compare and contrast - Huckleberry Finn (Huck) and Tom Sawyer

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    also says that each of the wives would tell the king a story and he

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson: The Man, The Myth, and The Morality

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    routinely over the last 30 years by historical revisionists and presentists. His commitment to America and his vast contributions to the framing of society as it is today are overlooked in favor of base analysis of his character that, while not flawless, is that of a morally upright person who has deeply held convictions and lives by them.

    Read More

  • Sir Thomas More: A Tool of God

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sir Thomas More was an English lawyer and best known as the councilor to King Henry VIII before he took the throne. More was married with children and a full on family man who also was active in his community. More held many different positions of great status in England and held himself to an equally high standard of judgment to always live out a life of great morality. Sir Thomas More’s fought to uphold the dignity and beliefs of the holy Church in a time of adversity and attack upon the Roman Catholic Church.

    Read More

  • Thomas Of Elderfield Essay

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    History is often constructed from stories that were passed down by word of mouth and those that were put to record. When stories are shared by word of mouth the human mind has the ability to exaggerate the truth and the lines between fact and fiction can become blurred. Most of this exaggeration comes from the human nature to try and manipulate the truth to benefit oneself. The Strange Story of Thomas of Elderfield is a perfect example of what verbal passing of a story can do. I will first give a short synopsis of the story, then I will explain why this story was of great enough significance to document and finally I will explain what a person of the time would most likely take from this tale.

    Read More

  • Sir Thomas More: A Man For All Seasons

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    When More died it sent a message to the public that the Kin was wrong in what he was doing. As More died in front of a lot of people, it certainly showed to the public that it was honorable and he put his point across in the clear way. “….but because I would not bend to the marriage” (pg. 78) More is simply stating that he wouldn’t agree with the King for the clear intention of staying alive.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Bad Parenting In King Lear

    1755 Words  | 4 Pages

    After Kent delightfully brings the two together and Lear realizes who he is talking to, he begs for forgiveness: “Pray, do not mock me. / I am a very foolish fond old man, / Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less /....Do not laugh at me, / For as I am a man, I think this lady / To be my child Cordelia.“ (IV.vii.68-79). Lear has finally achieved self-awareness regarding his mistaken banishment of Cordelia, and proclaims to her in a surprising display of humility that he is just a “foolish fond old man.” Shocking the audience, Lear does not hold back his newfound sense of shame. He goes on: “Be your tears wet? Yes, faith. I pray, weep not. If you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you do not love me, for your sisters Have, as I do remember, done me wrong. You have some cause; they have not.” (IV.vii.81-85). In another case of both humility and misjudgment, Lear believes that Cordelia no longer loves him due to his mistakes. Lear could not be more wrong because Cordelia 's love for her father is unconditional and still lives. Cordelia virtuously accepts his apology and assures him “No, sir, you must not kneel,” (IV.vii.67). Although the two do not live much longer, Lear intends to live out the rest of their lives being the best a father can

    Read More

  • Chaucer's Use of the Female Gender to Shape His Text with Reference to Wife of Bath

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the presence of the queen, the old woman says that what women desire most is sovereignty over their husbands. Nobody disagrees with her answer, and the old woman asks the knight to marry her. The knight agrees reluctantly.

    Read More

  • A Critical Analysis Of Sir Tomas More's Utopia

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sir Tomas More’s Utopia indirectly criticizes fifteen hundredth European catholic society of corruption, violence, poverty and of inequality. As a lord chancellor to Henry VIII, Thomas More was well aware of these problems and wrote a satire to propose his awareness in a carful manner, as we can see his hesitation to publish the book on his letter to Peter Giles especially when he described his “two minds” (More, 8). To criticize the problems of his times on a safe platform, he created a fictional character Raphael Hythloday, who is wise and knowledgeable of new places from the sailing experience with Amerigo Vespucci. This not only reflects the times in which people stepped out their voyages to the New World but also provides a foil to the European society—the

    Read More

More about A Defense For Sir Thomas More

Open Document