'A Man for All Seasons' is a play written by Robert Bolt, previously for BBC Radio in 1954 before revising it on stage. The premiere took place on July 1, 1960 at the Global Theater in London. The story begins when Sir Thomas More, a scholar and statesman, advises Richard Rich to become a teacher instead of striving to be rich, but he fails. He then gives Rich an Italian cup given to him by a lady he examined. It was given to him as a bribe and he only realized it after receiving it and decided not to keep it. At the same time, King Henry VIII wanted to divorce and remarry since Queen Catherine had not given birth to a male heir. More objects but remains silent. Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Chancellor of England, writes a letter to the Pope to dissolve the king's marriage and More examines it. More makes it clear that the Pope once granted an exemption when he agreed to the marriage of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragorn because she was the widow of King Henry's brother. Wolsey recommends that More be more practical and less moralistic. After speaking with Wolsey, More met Thomas Cromwell, the cardinal's secretary, and Signor Chapuys, the Spanish ambassador to England. Chapuys interprets More's evasive response to the cardinal as disagreement over divorce and informs More that if King Henry insults Queen Catherine, it will be considered an insult to the King of Spain because Catherine is the king's aunt. More returns home to find Roper – his daughter, Margaret's Lutheran boyfriend – visiting Margaret and asking for her hand in marriage. More tells him that as long as he is a heretic, he will under no circumstances be able to marry Margaret. Meanwhile, Wolsey dies in disgrace when he fails to obtain an exemption to disband the ma...... middle of paper...... causes no further harm to More than life imprisonment as long as More remains silent. Cromwell confiscates More's books but allows his family to visit him by making Margaret swear an oath to convince her father to change his mind. More does not give in and Alice finally sympathizes with her husband. They reconcile and leave when the jailer insists that visiting time is up. Cromwell grants Rich the office of Attorney General of Wales in exchange for false testimony. Although More always remained silent, Rich claims to have heard More deny the king's authority over the church. More is sentenced to death, but he ultimately declares his disapproval of the Act of Supremacy and his displeasure that the government is executing a man for his silence. More is unfazed and dies with dignity. The play ends with the beheading of Sir Thomas More.