Since English is over, I guess I will post up my essay on the law.
Essay# 2 “And whoever hunts for me, Roper, God or Devil will find me hiding in the thickets of the law!” The play shows that the law can never be trusted. Discuss
While Sir Thomas More’s ‘adamantine sense of self’ may be central to Bolt’s morally instructive play ‘A Man for All Seasons’ and the reason for his execution, it is also the failure of a fundamentally flawed legal system that leads to his downfall. The unjust end of Sir Thomas More is ironic given his respect for, and adherence to the law which fails to protect him. The injustice that More’s death represents is employed by Bolt as a vehicle through which he conveys his critique of the authorities’ ability to manipulate secular laws and use them as tools of oppression. As such More’s trust in the law emerges as naïve with Bolt emphasising that justice can never be achieved when it is controlled by corrupt and powerful authorities who use it to serve personal and political agendas.
Bolt decries the pragmatic philosophy of sixteenth century England as authorities can easily manipulate the law to serve their agendas and use it as a tool for oppression. During a time of political and religious turbulence in the 16th century court of Henry VIII, the Machiavellian pragmatism that pervades those in power is shown to lead to corruption that extends to the inability of the law to serve justice thus rendering it incapable of being trusted. Bolt highlights how fragile the integrity of the legal system is by revealing how powerless it is to protect its ‘champion’ as a result of the King and Cromwell being able to create, manipulate and impose laws to achieve their political agendas. When the law becomes a tool that represents the interests of the few, instead of universally protecting the innocent, Bolt suggests it becomes incapable of achieving justice and thus incapable of protecting individuals and society.
The unjust fate of Sir Thomas More forms the basis of Bolt’s critique of the legal system, as his example shows how easily the law can be manipulated and controlled by powerful authorities in order to silence opposition to their will and use it to promote their own agendas. The actions of Rich and Cromwell are clearly condemned by Bolt, as they use the law to satisfy the whims of the King irrespective of the consequences to those innocent. While the law is sacrosanct to More, something he insists he ‘will stick to,’ Cromwell views it as a tool facilitating ‘administrative convenience.’ Cromwell’s ‘contemptuous shattering of all forms of law’ and its processes shows how the process of justice can be perverted by those who have the power to create laws and impose them. Cromwell’s ability to use the law to weave the ‘net’ that facilitates More’s downfall and the pragmatism he employs to justify his actions, ‘it is only a matter of finding the right law…or making one,’ renders the law incapable of serving and protecting a individuals irrespective of their respect for it as it is not constant. Cromwell employs his power and perverts the course of justice by removing witnesses, bullying jurors and bribing Rich to perjure himself in order to condemn the ‘slippery’ More. Cromwell’s ability to pervert the course of justice is evidence of a corrupt legal process, which renders More’s trust in the law, ‘I will stick with what’s legal,’ as naïve and unwarranted; especially given he was aware of the corruption that surrounded him; being the ‘last judge since Cato who didn’t accept bribes.”
The failure of the legal system lies in its inability to judge a man by his character, in More’s cases, his integrity and morality. Irrespective of strictly adhering to the maxim of the law, ‘silence gives consent’ the Court condemns him for his ‘silence,’ which is manipulated to equate with opposition. More’s continuing silent opposition is considered intolerable by the King and Cromwell who believe it to be ‘bellowing up and down of Europe,’ given the respect his opinion affords and therefore not taking the oath is akin to denouncing the King. Given More is aware of the court’s weaknesses, he still sees the law as the guide for his actions and as capable of protecting him. More’s dilemma confronting More is that that God’s laws and man’s laws are in opposition to each other. The Court does not recognise a person’s spiritual integrity which judgement passed on one’s actions or in his case, inaction enabling Cromwell to convince the court that ‘silence gives consent,’ despite being the ‘most eloquent denial,’ of the King’s supremacy. More is naïve and even foolish to believe that the law could protect him given he was aware of the reality that the King’s ‘loyal subjects’ are more ‘bounden to be loyal to the King’ then their ‘own private conscience.’
Bolt does however emphasise the need for laws by metaphorically equating them as the shelter of mankind from the ‘terrifying cosmos,’ so that people may live their lives ‘without dealing(s) with the larger environment.’ Bolt’s wild imagery of the world as a dangerous place racked by torrential winds and storms re-affirms the need for laws, to protect from ‘God and Devil nakedly at war.’ While More places God’s law ‘way above’ man’s, he admits that he finds Him ‘rather too…subtle,’ and therefore sees the need for secular laws. More’s respect for the laws of man is premised on their ability to provide protection against the moral mysteries of the ‘cosmos,’ and therefore the country should be ‘planted thick with laws,’ to prevent a primitive society ruled by ‘avarice’ and ‘anger.’ Bolt sees More as a man who “may not try to live in” a ruthless and corrupt society, but tries to maintain his conscience and therefore distance by “gratefully accept(ing) the shelter of his society,’ which emerges as oxymoronic.
Although More places great trust in secular law to protect him, this trust is misguided as he is dealing with corrupt individuals who have the power to manipulate and pervert the course of justice. Such corruption enables individuals like Cromwell and Rich to lie and condemn an innocent man. The law can only be trusted when it is applied equally to all and not manipulated to suit personal agendas. The play warns that when those who make and impose laws cannot be policed, the law cannot be trusted to serve the interests of all. Perhaps More was right in ultimately placing his faith in God’s law as the only means of achieving justice given his belief that all are judged in heaven.
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