A Man for All Seasonsby Robert Bolt

(screenshot of the 1966 film, taken from Wikipedia.org)

Robert Bolt: a brief biography• born in 1924 in

Manchester, England• attended Manchester Univ

and fought in WWII• joined the Communist

Party in 1942, but quit after five years

• taught English and History before becoming a full-time writer

• wrote AMFAS in 1960• died in 1970

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/488286/

Historical Context of the Play• 1500s England, Henry VIII is king

• The Tudor Era

• King Henry wants to marry Catherine of Aragon, his brother’s widow. Why?

Because she was a member of the Spanish royal family, and by marrying her, Henry could strengthen his ties with Spain—a smart political move!

and so…

Historical Context of the Play

• But there’s a problem: England was still a Catholic country, and under Catholic law, you can’t marry your brother’s wife!

• So King Henry gets the Pope to grant him a special dispensation.

…they get married!

(from http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/sca/tudor/)

(from http://www.tudorhistory.org)

• What was Henry VII’s problem with this marriage?

• the marriage does not produce any male heirs (this means that Henry would have no one to whom he could pass the crown after his death

•

Historical Context of the Play

Historical Context of the Play

• The lack of an heir bothers Henry. Plus he has his eyes on another person. What is her name?

… Anne Boleyn!

(from http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/boleyn.html

So, he goes back to the Pope and asks for ANOTHER special dispensation.

This time he wants his marriage to Catherine annulled. What was his argument?

• His argument is that it was wrong and against God in the first place, and he offers the couple’s inability to produce a male heir as proof of the inappropriateness of their wedding.

Historical Context of the Play

• The pope is not amused—he refuses to annul the marriage. Why does the Pope refuse the annulment?

• pressure from Spain

• King Henry VII replaces Cardinal Wolsey as Lord Chancellor of England with whom?

• Sir Thomas More

Historical Context of the Play

Historical Context of the Play

• Meanwhile, King Henry appoints a new Archbishop of Canterbury—Thomas Cramner. Cramner quickly authorizes King Henry’s divorce of Catherine and remarriage to Anne.

• That seems great for Henry, except the Pope isn’t too happy. What does the Pope do?

…the Pope excommunicates Henry from the Catholic Church!

• As a result, King Henry VIII and Cromwell (Cardinal Wolsey’s solicitor and “ear to the king” ) enact a series of legislations that bring about what we know as The English Reformation: What do those include?

•Breaks with Rome and the Catholic Church

•Dissolves Monasteries in England

•Appoints King Henry the head of the Church of England and eliminates the authority of the Pope (The Act of Supremacy)

Historical Context of the Play

…. and that’s where Thomas More comes in…

Themes – Legal System• Sir Thomas More believed in what above

all else?– The Supremacy of the Catholic Church –

including the infallibility of the Pope

• Did More have an issue with King Henry VII’s marriage to Catherine?– No, because he had a Papal dispensation

Themes – Legal System• Because the Pope was under pressure from

Spain, he did not grant King Henry VIII an annulment in order to marry Anne Bolyn. Without this annulment, Henry VIII basically committed bigamy. Why was More against this marriage (and subsequently against the Act of Supremacy?)– Because it ran against his believe about the

Supremacy of the Church.– Note it is not about the marriages, but the fact

that King Henry VIII is not abiding by what More considers the supreme law

Themes – Legal System• Despite this violation by Henry VIII, More does

not want to commit treason. More wants to abide by the law, even though the two laws are in direct contradiction. What is More’s solution?– A legal loophole he tells William Roper

(Margaret’s boyfriend) “ An oath is made of words. It may be possible to take it. Or avoid it.”

• What does this say about the law? – The Letter of the Law is important – even if

one does not understand it– Pragmatism is very important

Themes - Individualism

– More tells his daughter that taking an oath is a way a person holds “his own self in his own hands”

– “a man’s soul is his self”• This is a modern concept that the soul belongs to a

person, or individual, and that the individual can thus express themselves as they wish.

– The character of the “common man” changes identities frequently, but may still express this idea how?

• Always opportunistic self

1) Who was Thomas More? What was his relationship to King Henry, his job, etc…?

2) What happens to him?

3) Why?

You should review whichever pages in the play are necessary to answer these questions.