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Henry: Was he? Was he so? Then why did h...

King Henry VIII

A Man for All Seasons

Robert Bolt

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Gender
Male
Playing Age
Adult
Style
Dramatic
Act/Scene
Act 1
Time & Place
England, 1530s
Length
Medium
Time Period
Contemporary
Show Type
Play
Age Guidance
Thirteen Plus (PG-13)

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Henry: Was he? Was he so? Then why did he fail me? Be seated-­‐it was villainy then! Yes, villainy. I was right to break him; he was all pride, Thomas; a proud man; pride right through. And he failed me! He failed me in the one thing that mattered! The one thing that matters, Thomas, then or now. And why? He wanted to be Pope! Yes, he wanted to be the Bishop of Rome. I'll tell you something, Thomas, and you can check this for yourself-­‐it was never merry in England while we had Cardinals amongst us. But look now-­‐I shall forget the feel of that . . . great tiller under my hands . . . I took her down to Dogget's Bank, went about and brought her up in Tilbury Roads. A man could sail clean round the world in that ship.

Robert Bolt, A Man For All Seasons, 1960.

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