The Use Of Temptation In Robert Bolt's A Man For All Seasons

In A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, Sir Thomas More faces controversy when he refuses to give his opinion on the divorce of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. As a previous chancellor, More uses his knowledge of the law to defend himself against Thomas Cromwell, the Chief Advisor to Henry VIII, and his schemes. By using silence as a weapon of defense, More protects himself from high treason and does not make his opinion known to the wanting public. Through his strong faith, More resists temptation brought on by Cromwell and Richard Rich to stay true to his conscious. Using silence, law, and faith, Sir Thomas More effectively resists the efforts and schemes of Henry and his regime in A Man for All Seasons.

The reader first witnesses

The first example, when Cromwell tries to make Sir Thomas More accept the divorce, “You’re a constant regret to me, Thomas. If you could just see facts flat on, without that more squint; with just a little common sense, you could have been a statesman”. Cromwell threatens More, suggesting that he will be removed from his position as Lord Chancellor if he does not comply to the demands of the king. Another example, when they try to lead him to temptation to crumble and break his silence, “When a man takes an oath, Meg, he’s holding his own self in his own hands. Like water. And if he opens his fingers then, he needn’t hope to find himself again”. More explains to his daughter, Meg, that when a man takes an oath, he holds himself accountable to his own conscience and will risk his own life to uphold it. As they try until the trial, Sir Thomas More stays in the cell, trusts in his faith, and says, “I am the king’s good servant, but God’s first”. Displaying his dedication to his faith, More still puts God first before another, he when the King and most others act and speak against him. Even as Cromwell was trying to pursue him, he kept his conscience and intellect in God before any other superior. He says, “I do none harm, I say none harm, I think none harm. And if this be not enough to keep a man alive, in good faith I long not to live”. Sir Thomas More would risk his own life rather than compromise his principles, and he trusts that God will reward him for his faithfulness. Sir Thomas more upholds his morality and faith in God, choosing not to stray from his own