Sir Thomas More was a devout catholic and was also one of the best lawyers in the country around his time. More importantly Sir Thomas More was an honest man and also known to be honest. In the play Sir Thomas More represents the morality in politics, his conscience, piety, honesty and integrity. He consistently shows these qualities in the altercations with king Henry VIII, Thomas Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. In these interviews Sir Thomas More remains constant and therefore his position does not vary, as he is extremely clever. The expedient, opposing characters in the play have to adopt a wide range of strategies, such as friendly, bullish, blackmail, casual and threatening, that reflect their characters, their position and their relationship with Sir Thomas More to achieve their goals needed. They have to do this, as they do not know how to break Sir Thomas More because they cannot understand him.
In the meeting between Thomas Wolsey and Sir Thomas More, Wolsey tries to gain an early advantage over Sir Thomas More by calling Sir Thomas More up in the middle of the night. Also, at the start of the scene, Wolsey tries to outwit Sir Thomas More when he accuses him of being late but is made a fool by the bell striking one. He acts like it’s a favour by showing him the dispatch. Next, he credits Sir Thomas More, but says “If you could just see facts flat on, without that moral squint… you could have been a statesman” which is a backhanded compliment and in the meantime accuses Sir Thomas More of having no common sense whatsoever. Wolsey calls Sir Thomas More a “plodder” and attempts to bully him through insults, saying he is nothing.
Wolsey wanders off of the conversation about the Latin Dispatch and asks Sir Thomas More if he knows where king Henry VIII has been. Sir Thomas More knows that if he says where he has been, then it could be classed as treason. Wolsey puts it bluntly and threateningly: “are you going to oppose me?” as the interrogation wears on, Wolsey hopes he will finally get Sir Thomas More to talk by lulling him into a false sense of security when he says there is no-one else there, but when Sir Thomas More states that he never supposed there was he tries a seemingly final attempt and asks Sir Thomas More if two Tudors are sufficient, hoping he will say something treasonable. Sir Thomas More is deeply shocked by the tone and volume of the question of a change of dynasty. Sir Thomas More continually sticks to his morality, but feel guilty as he is supposed to be a statesman, doing what’s best for the state and Wolsey keeps attacking this point. Sir Thomas More is blackmailed and made to feel guilty as Wolsey says that if there is no heir, there will be another War Of The Roses to determine who takes the throne. Wolsey realises that he cannot threaten or blackmail Sir Thomas More personally so he tries to blackmail him with his faith by saying that if they don’t join and agree then there will be an attack on the church.
Wolsey later asks how a statesman can obstruct necessary matter for your own conscience, suggesting he is selfish. In a last ditch attempt to get Sir Thomas More on their side, Wolsey offers him the job of chancellor if he supports him, a bribe. Wolsey also says Cromwell would be a worse chancellor than him but Sir Thomas More refuses to coincide with Wolsey and as a result Wolsey says he is unrealistic, to “come down to earth”. Finally when Wolsey says Sir Thomas More should have been a cleric, he replies “like yourself, your grace”, pointing out that it’s ironic, coming from Wolsey, who is supposed to be the most powerful churchman in England.
As I have shown, Wolsey adopts many different tactics to break down Sir Thomas More, but all of them fail as he is unable to understand his morality, through his own expediency.
In the interrogation of Sir Thomas More by Cromwell, Norfolk and Cranmer, for the seventh time, having already failed six times, they try to make Sir Thomas More sign the Act of Succession, proclaiming that any children Henry VIII had with Anne Boleyn would be legitimate. This is seen as Sir Thomas More’s last chance as if Sir Thomas More is executed then it shows that he is a bad man and Henry VIII was right all along as God didn’t stop it.
The interrogation is a legitimate process as there is a witness. They are using legal tools to trap Sir Thomas More and failure to sign the oath will mean imprisonment and loss of possessions. If his reasons are treasonable then he will be executed. Sir Thomas More deliberately hides his objections to the oath as to protect himself. Norfolk has been put on the commission, as he is Sir Thomas More’s friend and his appeal move him but he has to stand firm and follow his morals. As he refuses to state his reasons for his objections they assume that he wants to act treasonably. Sir Thomas More later suggests that there are some things that the king cannot control. The king has no power over the church and he doesn’t owe obedience to the king, although he fails to say this explicitly as it would be treason. Finally, Sir Thomas More calls Cromwell’s bluff when he threatens him with his own life.
In this scene the trio also try many different strategies to gain an advantage over Sir Thomas More such as friendship, threats, presumptions and Acts.
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