SerranoNotes+-+A+Man+For+All+Seasons+-+Plot+summary

In this novel, Thomas More objects to King Henry VIII’s plan of divorcing Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn just so he can have a male heir to the throne. More tries to keep his opinion to himself so he will not have to be disloyal to the king. More meets with Cardinal Wolsey to talk about the letter the king sent to the pope to get his marriage with Catherine annulled because they should have never gotten married in the first place. The pope had allowed the king to marry Catherine even though she was the widow of the king’s brother. More meets with Signor Chapuys and they both are against the king’s plan. Chapuys doesn’t want the divorce to insult Catherine because she is a strong Catholic believer. Because More has the same view about the plan, Chapuys considers him an ally and a friend. Meanwhile, William Roper visits More’s daughter, Margaret, to ask her to marry him but More does not want her to because he is a Lutheran. More is soon appointed to Lord Chancellor because Wolsey dies. The king was not pleased with Wolsey because he did not accomplish persuading the pope to grant him an annulment. Cromwell meets with Richard Rich, whom More gave a silver cup as a bribe. More also help make Rich a more established man. The two men, along with Chapuys, start collecting information about More jus to get to know what kind of person he is. The king comes to visit More so they could talk about the king’s decision but More doesn’t want to be bothered by it. The king leaves More. Alice More, More’s wife, is angry at More because he doesn’t just go with what the king want him to do. Cromwell, Chapuys, and Rich began a conspiracy against More. The new marriage is authorized by Thomas Cranmer. The Pope’s response to the new marriage was to excommunicate the king. Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy which declared the king head of England over the church. More opposed it because he knew it would then lead to the king’s divorce. Cromwell tries to accuse More of bribery for giving Rich a silver cup but it doesn’t work. He also tries to accuse him of writing a book about the king but More said he didn’t. They try to get More to take an oath to the Act of Supremacy but he refuses and is put in jail. Cromwell, Norfolk, and Cranmer all talk to More while he is in jail to get him to take the oath but he never does. They let his wife and daughter visit him to try to get him to take the oath. The once anger of Alice More has turned into sympathy at this point. At the trial for More, Rich testifies and says that he heard More deny the king’s authority. More keeps quiet throughout the whole trial. The judge sentences More to death and he is beheaded. He dies with dignity.