Sir Thomas More

Paper Summary:

Discusses More's refusal to change the law to allow King Henry VIII to divorce. Baes analysis on the 1966 film A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. Contends essence of the movie is true to history, but several film elements are not. Clash between More and the King, and More's imprisonment for treason.

From the Paper:

"Sir Thomas More, also known as Saint Thomas More (because of sanctification by the Catholic Church) is probably best known for his confrontation with King Henry VIII, for which he lost his life. He was a statesman as well as a political and social philosopher. His most famous work is his Utopia, a book in which he created his version of a perfect society and gave his name to such conceptions ever after as "utopias." The film A Man for All Seasons (1966, Fred Zinnemann) recounts the story of More's refusal to change the law to allow King Henry VIII to divorce. The essence of the film is true to history, but there are elements in the film which are not.

The law and the Church clashed under Henry VII, who had a sense of himself as absolute monarch, able to do whatever he wanted in order to accomplish what he desired. When the laws ..."

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