A Man For All Seasons Summary, Themes & Characters
A Man For All Seasons - Plot Summary & Synopsis
“A Man for All Seasons” by Robert Bolt is a play set in the 1530’s in
England just before the start of the Reformation and based on real events in
English history. The main character and hero of the story is Sir Thomas More
who is a dedicated Catholic. More is also a close friend of King Henry VIII,
the King of England at that time.
King Henry soon realizes that his Queen will
not be able to provide him with an heir to his throne and therefore orders
Cardinal Wolsey, the head of the English church, to organize a divorce.
When the divorce is not allowed by the Pope, Wolsey falls from power and
More takes his place. Thomas Cromwell, who is the villain of the story and an
assistant to the King, then proposes that the King start his own church and
therefore be able to divorce the Queen. This is done and the Church of
England is formed with the King as the leader. Thomas More is very much
against the divorce because it is against Catholic law and he will not sign the
document to agree to the new church. He is consequently imprisoned and
after a trial in which Cromwell convicts him executed.
A Man For All Seasons - Themes
I believe that what Robert Bolt is saying to us in A Man For All Seasons is that in life
people should have a set of morals and principles that we won’t compromise
for anything even death, just as Sir Thomas More wouldn’t compromise. If we
were to deny these principles within ourselves then life would become
valueless and we would become a Richard Rich, bending to influence and
taking the easy road of life. Robert Bolt would expect us to feel more strongly
about these principles and to stand up for them as a result of seeing or
reading A Man For All Seasons.
A Man For All Seasons - Thomas Cromwell Character Study
Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540),the villain in A Man For All Seasons, was an ambitious
man who rose from humble origins to become the Lord Chancellor of England
through his ability and determination. He was also a keen follower of
Macchiavelli’s teachings which was that the ends justified the means. In
1540, after losing favour with King Henry VIII, Cromwell was executed.
In “A Man for All Seasons”, Cromwell plays the villain and represents
all that is evil and bad. He is the opposite to Sir Thomas More who is the hero
of the story and represents the good side. Cromwell is also very
unscrupulous and ambitious in A Man For All Seasons and is much more concerned with
getting to higher places in the kingdom than with any moral principles. He
plays a large part in Thomas More’s execution.
Cromwell was a man who seemed to be much more concerned with his
earthly life and the things of value on earth rather than in heaven. He never
let religion or morals get in the way of his ambitions and as a result rose to
high places in England but also fell quickly with his execution.
Cromwell’s character has taught me that if a person wants something
enough and is willing to put everything else aside for that, even their
conscience and God, then they will eventually achieve this goal as he did but
at a high price. In contrast, Thomas More did the opposite yet still was
successful and this showed me that achieving success is also possible
through honesty and Godliness.
A Man For All Seasons - The Common Man
Throughout “A Man for All Seasons”, Robert Bolt uses a form of
alienation technique. An alienation technique is a technique used in plays to
link the actors closer to their audience by communicating directly with them.
In “A Man for All Seasons”, Robert Bolt uses a form of this where one actor
only, the Common Man, interacts with the audience. In traditional dramas
only narrators or occasionally different characters in the play talk to the
audience; the Common Man is similar to a narrator except that he plays a
part in the play and represents “that which is common to us all”. As a result of
this technique, the audience is given a different view from the Common Man
throughout A Man For All Seasons and these different views help to provoke a reaction from
the audience and make you feel more strongly about what is happening.
A Man For All Seasons - Conclusion
I thought that this was a really good play and the author was very good
at provoking reactions and responses in the reader. One of the times that I
got a strong feeling was right at the end during Thomas More’s execution. On
his way up to the block there was a feeling of grief and then when he had
been executed you were left in shock. Another event that generated a
reaction was during the trial when there was a feeling of desperation as
Thomas tried to defend himself.
Some of the characters also gave a strong feeling to the reader.
Thomas More was a very likable person and was “pure as the driven snow”,
while Thomas Cromwell was very dark and evil. Richard Rich gave me a
feeling of disgust because he was the weak character who turned on Thomas
More and his character reminded me of Judas.
“A Man for All Seasons” made me feel more strongly about having
principles and a conscience in life because without them you would become a
Richard Rich or a Thomas Cromwell and life would be valueless.
A Man For All Seasons - Historical Background
The Historical King Henry VIII
After King Henry VIII had married Catherine of Aragon, his dead
brother’s widow, in order to form an alliance with Spain, he soon became
concerned that she would not be able to give him an heir to continue his line.
He concluded that his marriage displeased God because it was forbidden to
marry your brother’s widow. He approached the head of the Roman Catholic
Church, the Pope, to allow him a divorce. The Pope, in fear of Spain who
opposed the divorce, could not allow this. King Henry became angry and one
of his ministers, Thomas Cromwell, proposed that he break from the Roman
Catholic Church and begin his own with the King as the head and thus
allowing him to have a divorce. Anyone who opposed the break from the
Church was executed.
The Political System
The political system of England during King Henry’s reign gave the
King a great deal of power and made him the most powerful person in
England besides the Pope. The King had the power to declare wars and he
also appointed the Cardinal, who was the head of the Church in England, and
Chancellor, who advised the King.
At this time, Henry was married to Catherine who was from the royal
family in Spain and so had formed an alliance with Spain. Spain, however,
kept an eye on England by using Signor Chapuys as a spy.
The Religious System
Back in these times, the church was very different to what it is today.
The church seemed more interested in getting money and power than in
teaching people about God and Christ and the spiritual aspect of church. As
a result there were many wrong practices going on in the church. Such
immoralities as selling of indulgences, where people could pay money in
order to comit a sin; selling of relics, selling things to people that were meant
to have a special spiritual value but were often fake; and reading the
Scriptures only in Latin so that the people couldn’t understand them. The sole
purposes of these wrong practices were to gain money and power for the
church. As a result many churchmen, such as Wolsey, became very rich and
powerful. In conclusion, the church had little or no spiritual aspect at all.
The Historical Sir Thomas More
Sir Thomas More was one of the few people of those times who was in
a high position and was also a very moral and scrupulous person. More acted
very much on his conscience and would refuse to do anything that he
believed to be wrong.
King Henry VIII soon recognized him as a very moral and honest man
and More served Henry frequently on diplomatic missions and was knighted
in 1521. More and Henry soon became close friends and Sir Thomas More
was made Lord Chancellor in 1529.
More’s relationship and position soon changed, however, when King
Henry wanted More’s support to divorce his wife. More’s religious scruples
would not allow this and King Henry had him executed 1535.
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