hey guys, jsimmo and clinton made me feel guilty for not writing any essays today so i thought id give one a shot and get you guys to have a look at it if you wouldn't mind! it would be very much appreciated and a score out of 10 would be nice. Thanks a bunch..
“How does the use of More’s family influence the audience’s response to More”?
Alice, Margaret and Roper are constructs employed by Bolt in A Man For All Seasons to entertain various interpretations of Sir Thomas More. Whilst Alice highlights the negative repercussions of More’s ‘adamantine sense of his own self’, she also serves to underline his positive attributes. Furthermore, Margaret functions to prompt the audience into considering – is More’s steadfast integrity preventing him from taking the preferable course of action? Moreover, as Roper’s faith in religion changes with the tides throughout the play, by juxtaposing his ‘seagoing principles’ with More’s, who is ‘a true son of the Church’, he is a construct designed to cement the notion that More’s faith in God is an admirable characteristic.
‘Poor silly man. Do you think they’ll leave you here to learn to fish?’ Despite More being known to the audience as ‘a saint’ by ‘popular repute’, Alice’s reaction to being reduced from the lifestyle of a ‘Knights lady’ to a state of poverty (involving ‘bracken’ and ‘stinking mutton’) encourages audience members to consider More’s actions as although demonstrating great strength in moral fibre, also slightly selfish. This is likely to strike a chord most prominently in female audience members who may consider the fact that as More’s unwavering conscience lead him to ‘abandon practice’ and ‘forget [his] station and [his] duty to [his] kin’ his perception of being an altruistic man may be slightly tainted. Bolt’s use of stage directions compliment this interpretation as Alice ‘wont turn’ nor ‘wont laugh’ at More, she is being used to accentuate the philosophical gulf between husband and wife, that More’s resistance to the ‘current of [his] times’ has produced. Thus, Bolt’s clever use of Alice is designed to encourage the audience to respond negatively towards the plays protagonist.
Conversely, Alice serves another purpose. Although audience members may remember the ‘hostile manner’ in which Alice condemns More’s resignation , she also presents his actions as deserving of some degree of admiration. By claiming that More is ‘the best man [she] has ever met or [is] ever likely to’ a compassionate audience member may interpret More’s actions as although bringing uncomfort to his family, deserving of praise due to his unwavering devotion to his self. Furthermore, Bolt reveals that More genuinely does express concern for his family as he pleads with them to ‘flee the country’ in order to remain out of harm.’ Thus, Alice offers dual interpretations of her husband – Both More the selfish fool and More the admirable man with an impregnable integrity.
Margaret serves a similar purpose to Alice in conditioning the audience to perceive More’s actions in a variety of ways. By claiming her father could ‘say the words of the oath but in [his] heart think otherwise’ audience members may construe that this betokens
More’s selfish and shallow approach to his predicament and that he is ultimately brining his demise upon himself. Albeit, More’s retort of ‘what is an oath but words we say to God’ may encourage audience members who like More, place great value in religion, to consider that More’s relationship with God may prevent this course of action from being taken. However, for other harsher and less religious audience members, More’s failure to take the former option may prompt them to consider that More is foolish for not submitting to Margaret’s plea. Conversely, as Alice states Margaret would ‘walk to the bottom of the sea and think [her]self a crab if he suggested it’, this illustrates her devotion and love for her father despite his somewhat selfish actions. Therefore, the strong relationship between father and daughter may encourage a positive response to More by audience members.
Where Margaret highlights More’s role as a father, Roper underscores More’s devotion to God. Roper’s ‘seagoing principles’ throughout the play, despite serving as a humorous reprieve from the unfolding tragedy due to his constant shift in religion, forms a sharp contrast to More’s own faith. As Roper is unable to remain ‘anchored’ to his principles as he oscillates between being a Catholic and Lutheran as the play progresses, this galvanises the perception of More as being ‘a true son of the church’ as he is able to remain steadfast unlike the capricious Roper. Thus, audience members who recognise that More is a man rooted in his religion may respond to his ‘silence’ regarding the Act of Supremacy (as it is ‘directly repugnant to the law of God’) with More understanding. Hence, Ropers mercurial faith encourages audience members to respond to More’s actions with greater admiration.
More’s family life is an integral component in allowing alternative interpretations of More to flourish. Alice and Margaret nurture the perception of More’s refusal to relinquish his clear conscience as coming at too great a cost. This works concurrently with the stage directions such as ‘lighting changes so that the set looks drab and chilly’ in their home to encourage audience members to respond to More from an alternative viewpoint. However, they still serve to illuminate More’s positive characteristics as well. Additionally, Roper functions to prompt audience members into perceiving his ‘willful indifference’ as in fact being a display of incredible strength and devotion to god as well as moral fibre. Thus, Bolt delivers the powerful message that even the most seemingly noble and respected figures of history may posses imperfections.
Word count: 881 (exam conditions)
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