Born near Manchester, England, in 1924, Robert Bolt writes about what he calls the human conflict-the struggle between living by one's principles and selling one's soul for earthly rewards. A Man jor All Seasons studies the human tendency to conform rather than to stand for one's principles-and risk being ostracized or even condemned to death. Bolt concentrates on a controversy of the 1500s that dramatically incorporated these choices, which he portrays in the characters of the Common Man and Sir Thomas More.
Henry VIII. In 1509 Henry VIII was crowned King of England after the unexpected death of his brother, Henry VII. By special decree froth Pope Leo X, Henry was allowed to marry his brother's widow, Katherine of Aragon. He eventually sought to have this marriage annulled, however, for several reasons, including her inability to bear him a son and his desire to marry the much younger Anne Boleyn-daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, a wealthy aristocrat. Henry argued that his marriage to Katherine should not have been allowed in the first place because it was contrary to canon law-the official law of the Catholic Church.
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