Foreshadowing in a Man for All Seasons

In the play A Man for All Seasons, foreshadowing is used to hint at the destruction of doubting doubting doubting doubting Thomas More. Foreshadowing is a warning or indication of a future event. The foreshadowing shows through quotes from various characters end-to-end the play and even from Thomas More. mogul heat content wishes to divorce his current wife Catherine to be with a nonher wo humankind, but divorce is against the Catholic Church. In this case, King Henry needs all in all the support he can get to override the law of the church. He even goes as out-of-the-way(prenominal) as to start his own church and be the head of it.Thomas More cannot support King Henrys divorce though because Thomas is devoted to the Catholic Church and its laws. He is a man who stands by his beliefs. This causes trouble with King Henry and all the men who support him. In the end, Thomass friends betray him and he dies. Many quotes from Thomass shop steward, Thomas More, and King Henry foreshad ow Thomas Mores death in A Man for All Seasons. Thomas Mores oath to God is how he identifies himself and it is very important to him.While Thomas is a very honest and pure man, his steward makes a comment saying, My master Thomas More would give anything to anyone. Some say thats good and some say thats bad, but I say he cant help it and thats bad. Because some day someones going to ask him for something that he wants to keep and hell be out of practice (Bolt 1. 17). The steward says this right after Rich takes the silver cup Thomas gives to him. The silver cup is a bribe a woman gives to Thomas, but Thomas does not accept bribes. The steward shows how kind Thomas is by not accepting the bribe and giving the bribe away.This quote foreshadows Thomass death, because the steward is predicting how King Henry will ask Thomas to support his divorce. The steward notes how Thomas would do in force(p) about anything for anyone, but Thomas will not be able to support the divorce because Thomas cannot give away his oath to God. This causes King Henry to build up resentment towards Thomas which leads to Thomass death. Thomas believes his ending to not support the divorce will not cause any real trouble with him and King Henry, but Thomas is very wrong.Although Thomas does not yet know he will die, he foreshadows his own death by saying, Set your mind at rest- this is not the embarrass of which martyrs are made (Bolt 1. 60). This quote is very significant because it shows Thomass ignorance and how much he underestimates the cruelty of his fellow friends and men in general. Thomass wife, who possesses much common sense, is very concerned, and she realizes before Thomas that King Henry will not simply let Thomas get away with his decision. Thomas is happy with his decision though, because he has stayed true to himself and to God.Thomas knows the only person he will judge is himself if he goes against his beliefs. Although King Henry is not pleased, Thomas believes he will not be bothered by the issue of the divorce again, but it does not go away as he hoped it would. Once Thomas realizes he has caused real trouble by his decision, he believes his silence will prove his innocence. This shows that Thomas stays ignorant throughout the play until he realizes how far King Henry is willing to go to prove his authority when Thomas is placed in prison under false charges.Even though Thomas thinks his decision will not cause any chaotic problems, King Henry hints that it will, even before Thomas comes to this conclusion. Henry tries to be polite at head start and discuss the issue of the divorce with Thomas in person. When King Henry realizes Thomas is going to stand by his decision, King Henry says, No opposition, I say No opposition Your conscience is your own affair but you are my Chancellor There, you have my word Ill leave you out of it. further I dont take it kindly, Thomas (Bolt 1. 56).Although King Henry tells Thomas that he will leave him out of the divorce issue, King Henry foreshadows Thomass death by also saying he does not take Thomass decision lightly. Thomas does not childs play this though, so he feels that he and the King have come to a truce. Even though King Henry understands Thomass devotion to the Catholic Church, he will not let Thomas go without a fight. Once King Henry gets his divorce and starts his own church, England severs its connection with Rome. This causes Thomas to dispense with as Lord Chancellor. Thomass action only adds fuel to King Henrys fire.Thomas believes by staying silent on where he stands with his beliefs, he will not be punished for anything. In the end, King Henry decapitates Thomas for not choosing his side. Thomass death is foreseen many times throughout the play. The steward predicts that because of Thomass kind nature, he will one day be asked for something he will not want to give up. This foresight is proven true as King Henry asks Thomas to support a divorce that goes ag ainst Thomass beliefs. Thomas foreshadows his own death by underestimating the impact his decision will have on his community.Thomas believes that his decision to not support the divorce will irritate King Henry and his followers, but lastly they will get over his choice. King Henry proves Thomas wrong as he throws Thomas in prison for made-up charges and later on decapitates him. Lastly, King Henry hints at his plans for Thomass death when he mentions how he does not take Thomass decision kindly. Readers see just how unkindly King Henry takes Thomass choice when he orders someone to kill Thomas. Foreshadowing is a key tool used in A Man for All Seasons in order to help readers predict Thomas Mores unfair death.