A Man For All Seasons: Thomas More as a Hero.
The play, A Man for All Seasons, by Robert Bolt, is the story of Sir Thomas More. Through the play and other sources, one is able to clearly identify his many traits and qualities. Throughout More's life, he was a very orthodox Catholic. He always put God before the throne and that is what led to his death. More is a heroic figure of his contemporary society. We see this through his regard for the law, his defiance towards the king, and the many attacks on his ethics.
More's trust in the law was his trust in society: his desperate sheltering beneath the forms of the law was his determination to remain within the shelter of society. However, it was society that shut him out because his views of the law conflicted with theirs. In the eyes of the king and the rest of society, including his friends, all he had to do was put his hand on the Bible and go against beliefs and lie. An oath was a very serious thing to More. An oath was an invitation to God to act as a witness, and to judge. More knew that if he swore to the oath he would be damned into hell for committing perjury (false swearing). And so, instead of taking the oath, he refused and stuck to the law, God's law. It was by this law that gave him the strength to be heroic and brave enough to stand up to everyone who tried to get him to bend the law. By sticking with the law, it cost More his office and its perquisites (privilege), which reduced him to comparative poverty. To More, these were classified as minor set backs, for he knew he would be rewarded by God if he kept living his life accordingly. Thomas Cromwell, Henry's hard-fisted secretary and councillor tried to fool More into breaking the law, but he could not get More to crack. More fought the system with his silence, further annoying his accusers. It is the law that helped him through these hard times - the law and God.