A Man of All Seasons by Robert Bolt

Both the drama and the movie A Man of All Seasons were created by Robert Bolt. The play was published in 1954, and the creator later turned it into a movie. It is a lovely and sincere form of art with a number of instructive and informative subjects. Christian faith is one of the author’s most important topics. After reading a review on the website, I learned about the subject. The site covered a variety of topics, including individualism and crime. However, the Christianity theme was the one that stood out due to the author expounding on it and giving more examples of how the play is similar to the film despite some few misrepresentations. Bolt used this theme to portray Thomas More like a very orthodox Catholic who was a friend and confidant of King Henry and was against anything that went against his beliefs. The similarities shown in the review portrays that the film does cover Bolt’s play thus in this paper, the similarities and differences that exist between Robert Bolt’s “A Man of All Seasons” play and film Christianity themes are going to be discussed and analyzed.

In both the play and the film, the writer portrayed the church as a place where people were interested in money, power, and popularity than in teaching the congregation concerning God, Jesus Christ, and the church’s spiritual aspect. For instance, in the two, Bolt portrayed how after King Henry VII married his dead brother’s wife, Catherine of Aragon, to form a formidable alliance with Spain. The king, later on, became worried that is companion would not be able to provide him with an heir who will be able to take over from him when he dies. He concluded that his relationship did not displease God since, during that period, it was forbidden for the siblings to marry each other widow when they die. Therefore, he managed to approach the pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church, to assist him in getting a divorce. With Pope fearing that Spain would rebel against the action, he opposed the divorce. King Henry became annoyed, and with one of his ministers beside him, Thomas Cromwell, he managed to get a way out. Cromwell proposed to him that they should break their ties with the Roman Catholic Church and start his sanctuary as the king is the head (”’A Man for All Seasons’ is a Stirring Film: 1966 Review“). With this approach, he managed to have a divorce and enacted strict rules of executing anyone in the church who wanted to break from the newly formed Church of England.

Both the play and the film show the disagreements that existed between politics and the church. After King Henry VII broke away from the church, he faced opposition from Westminister Hall and the parliament. However, the king managed to give a fair warning to anyone who was opposed to his church leadership and even executed them. For instance, Hall said that ”no power would meddle in the Church affairs or declare King Henry the head of state, and by doing so, they are going against both the king’s coronation and the Magna Carta” (”Silence Louder than Words: A Movie Review of ”A Man for All Seasons”“). He was shown being executed in both plays and cinema.

Both the film and the play has managed to show pope’s loyalty to the Catholic church and virtues that strengthen the audiences. He has been portrayed as a man of God who only listens to Gods command and cannot be shaken or threatened by anyone. For instance, after Thomas Cromwell managed to threaten him regarding England pulling out from the Catholic Church with the directive from the king, he did not give in to their demand thus showing his integrity and veracity.

Despite the similarities, the differences in the themes are also shown n his works. In the play, Bolt used strictly religious themes in showing the relationship that existed between the Catholic Church and the Pope; however, in the film, he has stressed the use of non-religious themes as a side effect probably to make the cinema appease or reach out to many non-catholic viewers. For instance, in the film, conscious liberty is used to eclipse the Catholic Church and the loyalty to the Papal issue (”Silence Louder than Words: A Movie Review of ”A Man for All Seasons”“).

In the film, Thomas More character has also been misrepresented as someone who did not fight against heresy within the realm as opposed to the play whereby he was portrayed as strong orthodox Catholic who stood by his beliefs against any contradictions and even died by them after execution. For instance, in the movie, Bolt representation of some of the hypocritical things that he did such as his moral, upright sense thereby contradicting his Christian virtues.

Effects of the Plays theme

If there are fewer characters in the film, the theme of Christianity will be lost. For instance, when Thomas More who is shown as the pillar of Christianity in England due to his beliefs that could not be corrupted even by Cromwell thereby being executed is removed from the film, there would be no other active Catholic follower in England.

If there are some fewer additions to the theme in the original plot, the direction would be more exciting and fascinating due to the increased drama that new Christian characters would have brought. For instance, the screenwriter would have shown other Christian activists in support of More rallying other people to stop his execution. However, despite the positive effects, the storyline would have been lost since it was a balance of Christianity, politics, and the economical issue of England and Spain thus omitting some of the factors that assisted in building the plot would destroy its base. The same happens to the situation when the subplots are eliminated. However, if other changes are made to the play, for instance, the character such as Thomas Cromwell removed; survival of some critical Christian characters would have been possible. Thomas More would have survived until the end of the play, and the Catholic Church would have maintained its strong relationship with England.

Conclusion

In summation, ”A Man of All Seasons“ by Robert Bolt is a fascinating book that incorporates all the themes relevant to every reader’s understanding. He has managed to use the theme of Christianity to show the relationship between different countries and how other denominations were majorly formed from the Catholic Church such as the Church of England. The book also offers some virtues that the Pope portrays that include integrity and honesty. Through, the book, Christianity virtues are highly strengthened, and a good example is shown to everyone.

Works Cited

”’A Man for All Seasons’ Is A Stirring Film: 1966 Review.“ NY Daily News, 2015, http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/man-seasons-stirring-film-article-1.2054887.

”Silence Louder Than Words: A Movie Review of ”A Man for All Seasons”.“ The Fellowship of the King, 2015, https://thefellowshipoftheking.net/2015/01/23/silence-louder-than-words-a-movie-review-of-a-man-for-all-seasons/.