Conscience in conflict

Description: Episode of Series “Great Themes of Literature”. At the opening of this edited version of the film ‘Man for all Seasons’, based on Robert Bolt’s play, Sir Thomas More is about to be executed. He has chosen to die rather than compromise his religious beliefs, the principles which he feels constitute his very identity. He is making an existential stand. The commentator for the series, Orson Welles, describes Sir Thomas More’s dilemma. King Henry VIII has decided to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. The King wants England’s nobility to support his decision by endorsing the Act of Supremacy. Next to the King, Sir Thomas More is the most powerful man in England and his approval is of the utmost importance. However, herein lies the conflict - More cannot condone either the King’s divorce or his usurpation of the Church’s authority. He chooses silence as a middle course. Suitable for middle and upper secondary levels.