Play: A Man for All Seasons, by Robert Bolt

1051 Words3 Pages

Beliefs are a core aspect of life, but a true test of one’s principles is how far one is willing to go to defend and preserve those beliefs. In A Man for All Seasons, Sir Thomas More exemplifies just how strong his ethics are. A Man for All Seasons is a historical play, written in 1960 by Robert Bolt, which recounts the events of the 16th century surrounding Sir Thomas More, leading up to his death. In A Man for All Seasons, Sir Thomas More becomes Lord Chancellor of England during the time that King Henry VIII divorced his wife, remarried, and declared himself head of the Church of England by the Oath of Supremacy. Since More is a sincerely devout Catholic, he could neither, in good faith, bless the king’s remarriage nor swear to the Oath of Supremacy. As a result, Sir Thomas More is charged with High Treason and is executed, making him a martyr in real life and a tragic hero in the play. Throughout the play, Sir Thomas More proves to be a tragic hero because he possesses a tragic flaw and is a man of great noble stature.
In A Man for All Seasons, Sir Thomas More’s tragic flaw, his morality, eventually leads More to make decisions that cause his own downfall. Even though many characters do not concur with the king’s divorce, they ignore their conscience in order to remain in the king’s good graces. More’s friends and family attempt to persuade him to comply with the king’s wishes. However, More refuses to do so because he believes, “In matters of conscience, the loyal subject is more bounden to be loyal to his conscience than to any other thing” (Bolt 116). Even though More remains a loyal subject of the king, his first duty is to live according to his conscience. More tries to explain that he is not being treasonous in any way,...

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...onscience, More makes choices to preserve his morality, which ultimately lead to his death. Since More is unwilling to compromise his scruples, More brought his downfall upon himself. More’s downfall is also somewhat due to his position as Lord Chancellor. Since More is such an eminent figure, his actions against the king have prevalent effects, which only help the king target More as a traitor. Sir Thomas More lived his entire live based upon his beliefs and principles. Even though More meets death in the end of the play, More dies standing by what he believes in. By defending his faith and morals, More proves his virtue by demonstrating that nothing worldly is ever worth one’s eternal soul, thereby making More the paragon of a virtuous man.

Works Cited

Bolt, Robert. “A Man for All Seasons.” 2014. PDF file.
“Characteristics of a Tragic Hero.” 2014. PDF file.

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