In A Man for All Seasons, Thomas More was portrayed as a generally sincere and virtuous man who stuck to his conscience, More was virtuous in ways such as having a good reputation and being respected throughout England,who did what he believed to be morally right. As the play progresses and More’s beliefs come into contradiction King Henry VIII’s will, More’s morals come into question, and it becomes clear that what More thinks is moral and amoral is his own personal opinion. More is caught between his beliefs and his loyalty to the king; he was very opposed to the reformation of England, which was started because King Henry VIII wanted to get his marriage annulled. Since this is against More’s religious ethics, he is opposed, but because
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To most other characters, More’s conscience is illogical restriction of him and his decisions, but in More’s eyes it is practical: he believes that “when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake for the sake of their public duties...they lead leir country by a short route to chaos” (22). When King Henry came to his house, More remained unchanged about his stance on the king’s divorce, which made Alice, More’s wife question him; More stands by his conscience to the extent that within him, “there is a little...little, area...where [he] rules [himself]” (59). This illustrates that for More, nobody can rule over him in matters pertaining to his conscience, and it isn’t possible for him to not rule this little part of him, no matter the circumstances. Roper is one who strongly disagrees with More’s claim of practicality when it comes to his morals, and even goes to the extent to tell him that “morality’s not practical”(94). More, with the use of his conscience, has no price, and trying to prove that it is a childish and ridiculous claim is a time when More is virtuous. This is a point of virtue because in theory he is trying to improve human life, but he is also using his personal and selfish ways of doing so, which is also, in a way not virtuous at
To most other characters, More’s conscience is illogical restriction of him and his decisions, but in More’s eyes it is practical: he believes that “when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake for the sake of their public duties...they lead leir country by a short route to chaos” (22). When King Henry came to his house, More remained unchanged about his stance on the king’s divorce, which made Alice, More’s wife question him; More stands by his conscience to the extent that within him, “there is a little...little, area...where [he] rules [himself]” (59). This illustrates that for More, nobody can rule over him in matters pertaining to his conscience, and it isn’t possible for him to not rule this little part of him, no matter the circumstances. Roper is one who strongly disagrees with More’s claim of practicality when it comes to his morals, and even goes to the extent to tell him that “morality’s not practical”(94). More, with the use of his conscience, has no price, and trying to prove that it is a childish and ridiculous claim is a time when More is virtuous. This is a point of virtue because in theory he is trying to improve human life, but he is also using his personal and selfish ways of doing so, which is also, in a way not virtuous at