A Man For All Seasons – 16th Century Essay, Research Paper

The 16th century was a time of political upheaval, a time of conflict and corruption ? and a time of heroes? All these elements are visibly present in Bolt?s book, A Man for All Seasons. As I was reading this story I was thinking that it could probably apply to our day and age but that begged the question. Why did Robert Bolt decide to use a 16th century character rather than a present time period character and setting? I believe that Bolt chose this man and his era because there things that he liked abut the man, there was no shortage of conflict and the he was worthy of being a hero. He fits into one of the archetype heroes. These three things I will touch upon in my seminar and I hope that my ideas will prove to be informative and enlightening.

One of the main reasons that Robert Bolt probably chose 16th century Thomas More as his hero for A Man for all Seasons was that he liked his personality. By that I mean that as Bolt wrote about More, he discovered more and more things that he found admirable about the man. At the outset, Robert Bolt was looking for a person who had a strong idea of who he is because this is what Bolt thinks is necessary to be a hero and this is exactly the type of man that Thomas More is. More saw in himself something that was his only and he was that it was something that allowed him to live life with confidence in himself. Only when he was denied that way of life was he able to accept his fate of death. Robert Bolt comments on this on page 13 of the preface. "?who nevertheless found something in himself without which life was valueless and when that was denied him, he was able to grasp his death." This shows that Thomas knew that he had a sense of identity that no one else and he knew how important it was.

After Robert Bolt selected this man, he began to write and realised many more things about Thomas More, which had drawn him to the 16th century character. One of the things that Bolt found out was More?s sense of self. He remarks on this on page 12 of the preface. "At any rate, Thomas More, as I wrote about him, became for me a man with an adamantine sense of his own self." Robert Bolt went back to this era long past because of that trait but it was as he wrote about him that he discovered just how strong his sense of identity was.

But that was not the only reason that Bolt had for selecting a 16th century character as you can see when he writes, "Another thing that attracted me to this amazing man was his splendid social adjustment." That can be found once again in the preface on page 14. In the 16th century, many people were rewarded for how they knew because of the thick black line between the rich and the poor. If you were poor then you could probably pull a few tricks that would get you in well with the local lord and this improve your life. I?ll prove that in my next area of focus. Robert Bolt was fascinated by More?s ability to gain status through hard, honest work. He did not get to his position because of the people he knew but because of who he was and how hard he worked.

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.

The first thing about the setting that I want to look at is the King. King Henry has been spoiled and has become corrupt in his power. He uses his authority as he sees fit and this makes him a dangerous man to cross. For instance, Wolsey failed the King in getting the divorce and died for it, under a false charge of High Treason. Now the King has put More into the same position, creating conflict. More knows that he cannot obey his King in this task but if More doesn?t, he will die and his family may even be harmed. "HENRY: Was he? Was he so? (Rises) then why did he fail me? Be seated?it was villainy then! Yes villainy. I was right to break him; he was all pride, Thomas; a proud man; pride right through. And he failed me!" (P30) As you can see, Henry does not care about anything other than has it been done or not. He cares not a whit for how the person feels about it and any failure to comply will be met with harsh repercussions.

Because of the power structure in the 16th century era, many people were rewarded for whom they knew. Take Richard Rich for example, he believes that since he knows, and is a friend of Thomas More, he should get some sort of perks. "RICH: Well, there! ?A friend of Sir Thomas and still no office? There must be something wrong with him.? / MORE: I though we said friendship." (P3) We can see the difference between More and the regular person of that era. This creates a conflict because Rich may feel resentment for this fact but he might also be confused as many other people are. No one seems to realise that his man knows what he is about and that using his own authority for favours is not what he would ever do.

Another source of conflict is between Thomas More and himself. Thomas More is torn between his life and his afterlife, represented by the King versus the Church on the matter of the divorce. This divorce is the main conflict in the 16th century and the main conflict in this book as well. This conflict between body and spirit alone shows the author that he should use a 16th century man as his hero. "HENRY: Was he? Was he so? (Rises) then why did he fail me? Be seated?it was villainy then! Yes villainy. I was right to break him; he was all pride, Thomas; a proud man; pride right through. And he failed me!" (P30) This is showing More that the alternative to doing what the Kin asks is death. "MORE (Eagerly): Then why does your grace need my poor support?" (P32) Thomas is doing his best to get out of the task but the King will have what he wants. King Henry replies, "HENRY: because you are honest. What?s more to the purpose, you?re known to be honest."(P32) The King knows that More?s opinions throw a lot of weight because people think him to be a saint and he wants to make use of it.

Stepping down from the larger aspects of the 16th century. Bolt would have used Thomas More as his hero because of the sheer amount of things that More had to think about because they make an astounding account of one man?s quest to live in an era that is so very different than he. One of the things that more has to think about that creates tension is the well being of his daughter, Margaret. He loves her very much and sees that she cares about Will Roper but he can?t allow her to marry him because Roper keeps changing his perception of himself, generally going to the opposite of everyone else. So when is married, he may change his mind and get tired of Margaret, and potentially hurt her. "MORE: ?And I?ll hide my daughter with me! Not hoist her up the mainmast of your seagoing principles! They put about too nimbly!"(P39) he is telling Roper as such so that he might work to convince More that he is able to make the commitment. The reason why More has so much say on this is because in the 16th century, the parents still have the final say in the marriages of their children. "NORFOLK: You read it? Amazing girl, Thomas, but where are you going to find a husband for her?" (P7) Yet another of the many reasons why the 16th century made for such a fine setting.

More importantly, More has to look after his family, as he is the father figure. He tries to persuade them to leave the country when he is in the jail tower. "MORE: ?now listen, you must leave the country. All of you must leave the country." (P85) If they were to get out of the country, it would be hard, if not impossible to track anyone in the 16th century. He asks them this in the hopes they will leave and set his mind at ease. By this point, he knows that he will never be free and he can?t bear them to see him like this.

Lastly, More is trying to watch out for his safety. During the entire play, he has to use every ounce of his wit to keep safe and his values intact. "MORE: ?Alice, it?s a point of law! Accept it more me, Alice, that in silence is my safety under the law, but my silence must be absolute, it must extend to you." (P56) He has found that so long he doesn?t give any indication to his opinion, hey cannot do anything to him legally. "MORE: There?ll be no trial, they have no case." (P85) When he is asking his family to leave the country, he knows that he has protected himself to the best of his abilities. He should be safe except for the fact that he is dealing with a corrupt King who considers himself above the law.

Is there any way to do a play such as this in the 20th century? Evidently, Robert Bolt thought not and after analysing the story further, I have come to realise that he is right. The elements of the story, which were present in the 16th century, are not present in the 20th. There also may have been no one in this century that Robert Bolt liked enough and with the right characteristics. And of course, there is not enough conflict for one man to face as there was in that time. I believe that there are men (And women.) who would be able to face the problems that Thomas More had to face but we can all be thankful that there is no need for it.