Robert Whittinton, a contemporary of Sir Thomas More, wrote of him, “More is a man of an angel’s wit and singular learning; I know not his fellow. For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness, and affability? And as time requireth a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes; and sometimes of as sad gravity: A man for all seasons.” Whittinton’s last phrase, which supplied the title for the movie (and play), refers to the seasons of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. How? The screenwriter expands on Whittington’s meaning of a man for all seasons. Explain.
Robert Wittinton calls Sir Thomas More “a man for all seasons” in reference to the seasons of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 speaks of a time for everything. Whittington refers to the way in which More can accept the things around him and make the best of it. The screenwriter expands on Whittington’s meaning of a man for all seasons. The meaning that the screenwriter uses refers to the way in which Thomas More holds to his beliefs. In a “season” of difficulty people are abandoning their person conviction in order to please the king and retain their positions of power. Sir Thomas More however does not, his faith proves to be worth something beyond the times when faith is an easy thing to hold on to. Even when it gets hard and proves to be costly he does what he believes is right. He had more than enough opportunities to save himself. Time and time again he could have agreed to sign the oath or gone to the wedding or blessed thing kings marriage or condoned the divorce, but he didn’t even though in the end it cost him his life.
Through the examples above it is clear that Wittinton was appropriate in calling Sir Thomas More a man for all seasons. It is also made clear that the screenwriter expanded on this meaning as well as how he did this.
