NON-AFRICAN DRAMA ROBERT BOLT: A Man For All Seasons Discuss the notion that Sir Thomas More is naive

Answer Details

The claim that Sir Thomas More is naive invites us to weigh his conduct in Robert Bolt's A Man For All Seasons. On the surface his refusal to compromise, and his fatal trust in the protection of the law, can look like innocence of the way power really works. On a closer view, however, More is not naive at all but a supremely shrewd lawyer who understands his danger perfectly and chooses principle with his eyes open.

The case that More is naive.

• He believes that his silence on the King's divorce and supremacy will keep him safe, trusting that the law cannot punish a man for what he has not said. Events prove this hope misplaced.
• He relies too far on old friendships and on the King's affection for him, underestimating Henry's ruthlessness once his conscience is crossed.
• He is generous and unsuspecting toward Richard Rich, giving him counsel and even a silver cup, failing to guard against the ambition that will later perjure him to death.
• His faith in the integrity of the courts is betrayed when Rich's false testimony, rewarded with the office of Attorney-General for Wales, secures his conviction.

The stronger case that he is not naive.

• More is the finest lawyer in England and knows the danger exactly. He retreats into silence precisely because he understands that the law protects a man who says nothing, and he defends that position with brilliant legal reasoning.
• He warns Rich plainly, telling him to be a teacher rather than seek advancement at court, showing that he reads Rich's character clearly and simply hopes to save him.
• He arranges his affairs, resigns the Chancellorship, and cuts himself off from dangerous conversation, all deliberate acts of a man managing a mortal threat.
• His stand is a matter of conscience, not ignorance. He would rather die than swear an oath he believes false, valuing his integrity above his life. This is moral courage, not simplicity.

Conclusion. More miscalculates the reach of tyranny and the depth of Rich's treachery, and to that limited extent he can seem naive. But Bolt presents him as a man who sees his peril more clearly than anyone and still refuses to betray his "self". His downfall comes not from foolish innocence but from an uncompromising conscience in a corrupt age. He is better described as principled and tragically steadfast than as naive.