A Man For All Seasons By Robert Bolt

The main plot in the play “A Man For All Seasons” by Robert Bolt is corruption, more specifically political corruption. While the play focuses heavily on the social demise, and moral strength of the character Thomas More. It also covers the inverse process with other characters, such as; Richard Rich, Thomas Cromwell, and the king of England Henry VIII. In the play Thomas More stands as a beacon of selfhood and virtue, while the other three men used manipulation and disloyalty, to gain wealth and power, no matter what the consequences may be.

John Foulcher writes interesting poetry because he can make the reader see, feel, and think. Summer Rain , demonstrate to the reader that Foulcher’s poetry is not only thought provoking and realistic, but it is also able to capture aspects of society through his unique use of imagery.

In the play A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt the audience learns about the extraordinary life of Sir Thomas More. Sir Thomas is faced with a moral dilemma that will determine the outcome of his life. More, chancellor of England , and a strong Christian believer is forced to choose between his close friend, King Henry VIII, and the supreme lord his God. More is a man of moral integrity because he refuses to submit to external pressures to sign the oath condoning the Act of Supremacy. He follows his heart and soul in doing what he believes to be right no matter what the consequence.

Many centuries after the first spaceship landed on the moon, a group of brave rocket men and women did the unbelievable. The short story “All summer is a day”, by Ray Bradbury, takes place in the underground city of the planet Venus where tunnels roamed instead of streets. The land above them was submerged with endless pouring rain and deadly jungles. The sight of the sun was a rare miracle that only happened once every seven years. The children spent all their life in the enclosed underground tunnels, well all except for one. Margot was the only child who came to Venus when she was four, and the biggest difference was that she still remembered the times when the glowing sun gave warmth and hope.

Reflecting on this event many times in my past, I have called it an "innapropriate romance", I have called it “an unprofessional relationship”. However, most frequently, I have called it “the thing that happened that summer.” As in — remember the thing that happened that summer? What I never called it, for reasons similar to that of why I never made a fuss about it when it happened, was sexual abuse.

The Boys of Summer, a non-fiction book of baseball, written by Roger Kahn. Who tells a wonderful heart aching tale of a simple stick and ball game that helped start the development to push Americans (generally the white population at the time) to change what the country claims to be, a free and fair non-prejudice country that gives “everyone” their own rights/opportunities. Jackie Robinson, America’s first African American to play on a Major Baseball league. He was the first colored-skinned to ever make history not only in the game of baseball. Robinson ignited a spark that sent Americans (mostly the white population) dumbfounded, that a “nigga” a dark colored-skinned individual was more than just a janitor. This book transcends the generation gap as Kahn recaps his boyhood in Brooklyn, his young career as a writer following the Brooklyn Dodgers, and a follow-up of the certain members of the Brooklyn Dodgers during post-playing days. As Kahn nostalgically narrates his story of the transformation of the Brooklyn Dodgers, a dead team who came back to life to make a major impact on the country, to a becoming dead of the last time. Reveals the theme that race play a huge role on American’s reaction to the Brooklyn Dodger, Jackie Robinson, and the aftermath to letting a “Negro” into a white man sport.

Henry VIII married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon, in a political marriage (much like most weddings of the time). When Catherine of Aragon had stillborn children as well as early infancy deaths to all of their children, except Mary, Henry VIII began to worry that he would not have a son to heir the thrown. He began to petition the court for an annulment, so that we could marry his mistress Ann of Boleyn. At first Catherine, was kept in the dark of Henry's plans, he was using the text of Leviticus to justify his annulment. In the book of Leviticus, it states that if a man takes his brother's wife they shall remain childless. Even though they had a healthy daughter, Mary, this

As king of England, Henry has the power and the unquestionable authority to act based off his own desires even if they are not legally or morally acceptable. Because his current wife, Catherine, who was also his brother’s widow, has failed to birth a son, he wishes to divorce her and take Queen Anne as his new wife. Without a male heir to the throne, Henry’s lineage will come to an end and England will be left without a successor. He admits this to More during their meeting in Act 1, saying,

In the short story “To Every Thing There Is a Season” written by Alistair Macleod, the narrator was shown changing from childhood to adulthood. Macleod claimed that the process of becoming a teenager was difficult, and was shown feeling the pain of leaving his old life behind in the short story. He changed as he was invited to stay up late with the adults and watched his younger siblings unwrap presents from Santa. The night of Christmas eve, the narrator’s father told him, “We would like you to stay up with us a while (Sightlines 10, page 305)”. The narrator realised that he has changed to adulthood, as he watched his younger siblings unwrap presents with his parents and older siblings.

The play in A Man for All Seasons, written by Robert Holt in the 1960s, retells the story of King Henry the VIII, his separation from the Church, and how his chancellor Thomas More resisted all attempts from the King to make him approve of the action. This story confirms that management of political power corrupts the minds and hearts of groups and individuals, such as Cromwell and King Henry VIII, but for some, such as Thomas More, it teaches them the importance of integrity and remaining faithful to one’s own truths. While political power itself is not evil, it is still an effective tool to achieve ambitions and aspirations—good or bad. This quality of power tends to easily break down and dissolve the moral strengths and good will of any

     But you can not write a play on the excellent character of a man alone and this is another reason why Robert Bolt had to go all the way back to the 16th century. I believe he was also thinking of the setting. This is because the setting is actually a time of political and spiritual upheaval so there is a great deal of conflict for Bolt to make use of. King Henry was a king who abused his power so people had to make sure that they were on his good side, no matter what. Another reason was that More acted differently than everyone else; he believed that you had to earn your status. And the divorce, well, the divorce can be looked at as the King and the Church meeting at a head. It was king versus the church, and for Thomas More, it was his life vs. his spirit.

                In some literature, a character’s moral stature plays an important role.  In the play, A Man for All Seasons, by Robert Bolt, no other character comes close to More’s moral reputation.  Thomas Cromwell and Richard Rich do not compare to More’s moral stature because both Rich and Cromwell lie, while Rich accepts bribes and Cromwell does anything King Henry VIII tells him to no matter what it is, and they will do whatever it takes to get what they want.  More on the other hand, would not lie no matter what the consequences would be, he would not accept a bribe under any circumstance and he would never go against his morals.

A Man for All Seasons asks the audience a crucial question; would a man sacrifice his beliefs for power and control? Plagued with themes of supremacy and control, Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons features the protagonist Thomas More who is fiercely truthful and honest. Thomas More is foregrounded within the play to highlight the themes of power, control and ultimately corruption amongst the monarchy. The play, A Man for all Seasons, provides the audience with a deeper and more accurate portray of Sir Thomas More in comparison to the film, giving the audience a more enriched story of the overarching theme. Represented in two different forms, the story is given more depth and justice in the play, unpacking the different themes of the Common Man, water and corruption.

People in positions of power are always under scrutiny by those they rule. Despite their moves being watched closely, rulers often have a deep-seated inability to compromise their beliefs, thus corrupting the government. In this day and age, it is far easier for the public to combat this ignorant worldview, but in the time of King Henry VIII, this was nearly impossible. It took men in other positions of power to stand against the king’s will, but even this fared poorly for the dissenters. In Robert Bolt’s play A Man for All Seasons, Sir Thomas More was beheaded for his decision to remain silent on the matter of the King’s marriage. The leaders of England value More and view him as a man for all seasons, but only while his morals match their

King Henry the VIII was born in 1491 to Henry Tudor VII and Elizabeth of York, making him their third child, but second son. He was named after his father, Henry VII, and since he was the second son, he was not expected to be King. King Henry VII eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales was to take the thrown and become King of England, that is until his death unexpected death. When little Henry was ten years old, he attended Arthur and his bride Catherine of Argon’s wedding. Four months after the marriage began, it ended, with Arthur 's death. There was a signed treaty that stated Catherine would be allow to marry the next heir to the throne – Prince Henry. It was considered necessary for a papal exemption to be issued permitting Henry to wed Catherine because she was his dead brother’s wife, and this marriage was restricted in Leviticus. At the time, and for the duration of her life, Catherine denied that her marriage to Arthur had even been fulfilled, so no agreement was required. In any case, both the gatherings in Spain and England needed to make certain of the authenticity of the marriage, so consent from the pope was looked for and got. The marriage did not take place however. Henry became King Henry the VIII of England when Henry VII passed on April 22, 1509, which changed his life forever.