In A Man For All Seasons, which lines are historical?
In the film version of A Man For All Seasons, Thomas More (the character) gives several magnificent speeches. The real More was in fact a prolific writer, so I wonder whether the character’s lines are More’s own words.
I looked around on the web, and some pages treat as historical the words More speaks in the trial at which he is condemned to die.
What about the speech about giving the Devil the benefit of law, one of the most memorable in the film? And what about all of the other great scenes?
If these stirring words are not from his own writings, are there other records of his conversations with people who seem to be of little historical interest (like More’s son-in-law)? Or were the rest of More's lines purely the inventions of Robert Bolt?
A version of the play's script appears here: Act 1 -- Act 2. The speech about the Devil and the benefit of the law appears in Scene 1, and according to this script it goes like this:
ALICE (Exasperated, pointing after RICH) While you talk, he's gone!
MORE And go he should, if he was the Devil himself, until he broke the law!
ROPER So now you'd give the Devil benefit of law!
MORE Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
ROPER I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
MORE (Roused and excited) Oh? (Advances on ROPER) And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you -- where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? (He leaves him) This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast -- man's laws, not God's -- and if you cut them down -- and you're just the man to do it -- d'you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? (Quietly) Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake.
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What is the message of A Man For All Seasons?
Corruption. A Man for All Seasons focuses on the rise of Richard Rich as much as it follows the fall of Sir Thomas More. As More's steadfast selfhood earns him a spot on the chopping block, Rich acquires more and more wealth and greater status by selling out his friend and his own moral principles.What century does A Man For All Seasons take place?
The story takes place in sixteenth century England. But men like Sir Thomas More, who love life yet have the moral fiber to lay down their lives for their principles, are found in every century.What is the internal conflict of a man of all seasons?
major conflict Privately, More disapproves of King Henry VIII's divorce and remarriage. Publicly, he would prefer to have nothing to do with the matter. But when Henry, through his agent Cromwell, forces More to speak out, More must either publicly assent to the divorce or die.What happens at the end of A Man For All Seasons?
More is sentenced to death but not before he can express his disapproval of the Supremacy Act and his disappointment with a government that would kill a man for keeping quiet. More goes to his death with dignity and composure, and the play ends with his beheading.Neat Things About \
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