A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt****

I first came into contact with this play in 1999 when I saw it in production at BYU. I don't remember much of the details - what I do remember is feeling so moved and so privileged to be a part of theatre in general that produced something so profound that I was full to bursting.

I remembered it anew recently as we watched the Showtime series The Tudors - quite enjoyable, and really brought the whole King Henry VIII thing to life for me - for the first time I can name at least 4 of his 6 wives (still haven't seen the last season). One of the most moving scenes that still sticks with me is the execution of Sir Thomas More. Jeremy Northam delivers a riveting performance. But this is a review of the play, not The Tudors. It was helpful having recently watched it because it was easier for me to distinguish between the characters that were a little confusing to me before (Wolsey v. Cranmer, Rich v. Chapuys, etc.) and allowed me to focus more on the point of the play ... which I believe can be summed up in this phrase: "In matters of conscience, the loyal subject is more bounded to be loyal to his conscience than to any other thing."

For those not quite as familiar, I'll attempt to sum up the premise briefly: King Henry wanted to be remarried. He was convinced that his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon was invalid, that the pardon extended from Rome at its onset was also invalid. And to overcome the encumberance of his marriage so he could divorce Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn, he renounced the authority of the Pope and named himself the sovereign authority of church and state for England. Those who disagreed with a charter drafted along these lines were sentenced to death as traitors to the throne. Sir Thomas More, a long-time mentor to the King and faithful Catholic found himself unable to sign on account of his loyalty to the Church, and found himself on the wrong side of the King's favor.

His predicament reminds me not a little of the quote by Karl G. Maeser (for whom the Maeser Building is named at BYU): "I have been asked what I mean by 'word of honor.' I will tell you. Place me behind prison walls—walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground—there is a possibility that in some way or another I might be able to escape; but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of that circle? No, never! I’d die first."

These stirring ideals have long been something that I have aspired to in my personal character. I don't seek for the kinds of circumstances that More found himself in. But, I hope that if my character were ever called into question that I would have the fortitude to stand in the manner of these fine men - to know that ultimately there is only one other Being who needs know my true heart. There is a freedom in that, even if one has to stand shackled to find it.