A Man for All Seasons

A Man for All Seasons

Throughout the world of written literature there have been times when the author perceives the characters of their story in many different ways. For instance, at the beginning of a story a character could be portrait as a hero by the author. However, as the story unfolds and the story line develops, the character could suddenly be realized as being a villain. In the play written by Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons, the character Thomas More is just such of an example of a character that is perceived in different ways.

When one reads the story, initially they would consider More as a wise and religious man, who wouldn’t even harm a fly. He was deeply respected for he was quite intelligent, in the aspect that he was a lawyer and knew the business of politics well. More was considered wise. He had his own ideas of things, and he seems to know what is best for everyone. However, it was his philosophies and his strong faith in the Church, the King, and in God that got him prosecuted.

Thomas More would also be described as being a foolish old man. More was very kind, a little too kind. He would have given anything to anyone. As described by the steward, Matthew, “My master Thomas More would give anything to anyone. Some say that’s bad, but I say he can’t help it-and that’s bad…because some day someone’s going to ask him for something that he wants to keep; and he’ll be out of practice.” (Bolt, 17)

Many would say that Thomas More was a fool because of his deep faith in the Church. He was scrutinized as being foolish due to the fact that he would rather die than give in to an oath, which even though against his beliefs could have saved his life. Most men, who might have been considered wiser, would have saved their own lives. Apparently, that was exactly what Norfolk did. He asked More once, “We’re suppose to be the arrogant ones, the proud, splenetic ones-and we all given in! Why must you stand out?