Man For All Seasons [Paperback]

As one of the negative reviews notes, it's not always historically accurate--More's personality and behavior were not as near-perfect as the play suggests. However, the major facts are correct and plays (like other works of entertainment) are permitted a certain lattitude.

More important, however, is the battle of truth and "right" against falsehood and "wrong." And, from this standpoint, the play is near-perfect. More's speech comparing laws to trees--and warning against cutting them down--is an absolute classic.

The play works well both historically and as a parable for modern times. And I think it works better than Miller's "The Crucible"--another play I read in high school that, in some ways, is comparable to "A Man for All Seasons."

So, to what lengths will a man go to keep his honor? Is everything for sale? This is the story of conscience over expediency, which is a message we need right here, right now, especially in DC. The problem with politics and principles is perennial, but it has become a bit more exacerbated with the war on terrorism.

We rally behind More since he stands up for conscious. It is an interesting dilemma, since we might criticize him for not being more vocal or proactive in his stand against the king, but More does say that God made "man to serve him wittingly, in the tangle of his mind! If he suffers us to fall to such a case that there is no escaping, then we may stand our tackle as best we can. . . But it's God's part, not our own, to bring ourselves to that extremity! Our natural business lies in escaping!" (p. 126)

The best plays are the ones that make you think yeas after you experience them. This is Bolt's spell, and we can never escape.

This is almost a perfect play. The only flaw is that More ends up with the best one liners, while the antagonists Henry VIII and Cromwell have lifeless lines without the wit and sparkle speeches that Bolt have given to More.

One of the intriguing aspects of this play is all the subplots, or rather, ripples across the ocean of events. These sub-plays augment an already powerful story, and help bring more light and detail to the story.

One ripple is Richard Rich. He is a young man with burning ambition. More wisely counsels him to become a teacher, instead of involving himself in affairs of court. Rich ignores the counsel, gets caught up in the sausage-machine of state, and eventually perjures himself in More's trial. More did not have a price; Rich's price was Wales.

Henry VIII is another backgound mover, and the driver of the events in the play. He wants an heir, but at what price? The dynastic wars had just been settled, and his line was established, but he had no heir. Harry VIII was a bit of a playboy like Harry V, but Harry V eventually grew up. Henry VIII went to every extraordinary extreme to have an heir, from marrying his wife, to divorcing his wife, establishing a new church to soothe his conscience, and finally sanction the death of his one and only loyal friend. His price was his pride.

Another sub-ripple was the romance between Margaret More and William Roper. Thomas was, of course, a staunch Catholic, but Roper was a new Lutheran, and there was religious tension. Thomas forbade his daughter Margaret from marrying Roper until he returned to Catholicism.

Two characters were almost ignored in the play: Wolsey and Alice More, but I guess that you can't have everything in a two-act play. Sigh!

The 1966 film adaptation left out another sub-plot Senor Chapuys, the Spanish ambassador. Since Katharine was from Aragon, Catholic Spain had quite an interest in having the first marriage remain in tact.

Aside from reading a history book on the man and the time, I would recommend the companion classic of Shakespeare's play "Henry VIII," which tells how Wolsey accidentally got Anne Bolyn and Henry VIII together at a dinner party, and how Wolsey fell out of favor with the King. Surprisingly, Shakespeare only mentions More once (III.ii.468), but we understand the edgy politics during Shakespeare's day.

Bolts quick wit and ability to compress complex ideas into compact catchphrases, what are called "bumper-sticker" lines in the film industry. I would like to read more of his plays.