"A Man for All Seasons" by Robert Bolt: More's Moral Dilemma
During the English renaissance in the 1500's, King Henry VIII wants a divorce from his wife for various reasons, but divorce is against the Catholic religion. This is why he wants Sir Thomas More's consent, because More is a highly respected Catholic, but he is such a good Catholic that he goes against divorce. In the play, A Man for All Seasons, by Robert Bolt, King Henry VIII applies pressure on Thomas More to support the divorce in many ways. He exerts it both directly and indirectly in forms of threats and intimidation from various people. Henry forces Meg, More's "renaissance woman" daughter, to take an oath in order to see him, so she tries to influence his decision about the divorce by using her intellect and by begging. Wolsey, a cardinal, was told by the king to try to persuade him to support the king's divorce by appointing him to a political office, so if More does not support the king, he could be executed for treason. Similarly, the king orders Cromwell, his assistant, to apply pressure by finding a reason to kill More, to force him out of the way.
All of these pressures from the king lead to a moral dilemma that More has to face, but he chooses to stick to his morals.
King Henry applies pressure on More to support the divorce through Meg.
While More is in jail for failing to take an oath supporting the divorce, Meg tries to convince him to take the oath, and she says, "Say the words of the oath and in your heart think otherwise," (page 81). More responded to this by saying,
"What is an oath then but words we say to god?" (page 81). Meg is applying direct pressure on More by asking him to say the oath and not believe in it, so he will get the benefits of believing it and stick to his morals at the same time. However, More thinks this is against Catholic religion because he thinks of an oath as "words we say to God," so he certainly can not use Meg's strategy.
Meg pressures More directly by trying to reach out to his feelings when she says emotionally, "But in reason! Haven't you done as much as God can reasonably want?" (page 81). More supports his beliefs by saying, "Well...finally...it isn't a matter of reason; finally it's a matter of love." Meg wants ...
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... calls him "a statesman of incomparable ability," but this does not change More's decision about the divorce. If Wolsey did not name More for chancellor, More would not have been able to be tried for high treason, and he would have been able to disagree with the king and not face execution. More receives many pressures from many people through King Henry, both directly and indirectly. In addition to Meg, More's whole family, including
Alice, his wife, pressure him to support the king's divorce. Also, politically he was challenged not only by Cromwell and Wolsey, but he is pressured by
Norfolk, Rich, and Cranmer to support the divorce as well. Socially, More is alone in his disagreement with the divorce. All this pressure against More, and he still sticks to what he believes in and what his religion says to do, although he dies for it. The moral dilemma More faces is similar to the moral dilemma of someone who has AIDS. If you have AIDS, you have no good way of dealing with it. More displays what a wonderful a person he is by choosing to not go against what he believed in, even though he got executed for it, which was probably a little crazy.
rival’s guard down; to the point she’s invited (possibly more like coerced) to his bed. In addition,
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First-Year Writing courses provide a common introductory experience in college-level thinking and writing for all students at Wellesley. These courses serve as a launching point for developing advanced writing skills, and students will continue to practice and enhance these skills in work they do across the curriculum throughout their college careers.
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In the play King Henry wants to divorce his barren wife to marry a new love. He feels Mores publicized acceptance of the divorce would allow it to proceed without immense public revolt. King Henry promises More, not to pursue me [More] on this matter [the divorce](54), but after More accepted the Chancellor position, King Henry began badgering him to help him with the affair. The badgering and erratic behaviour became more violent towards More as he perpetually declined to comment on the divorce. Despite that King Henry promised again to More, There, you have my word Ill leave you out of it (56), he hired Cromwell to pressure More into making a statement. King Henry became so obsessed with trying to achieve Mores acceptance that it was said he Wants either Sir Thomas More to bless his marriage or Sir Thomas More destroyed (119). King Henry with his lust for new love took his unrelenting iron fist and thrust down Sir Thomas Mores throat his last breath of life. But a King without a council is powerless; there are others who are accountable for Sir Thomas Mores death.