Sir Tomasso Moro

Sir Thomas More is an Elizabethan play and a dramatic biography based on particular events in the life of the Catholic martyr Thomas More, who rose to become the Lord Chancellor of England during the reign of Henry VIII. The play is considered to be written by Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle and revised by several writers. The manuscript is particularly notable for a three-page handwritten revision now widely attributed to William Shakespeare. This play is not a biography; it is a drama that deals with certain events in More’s life. Other significant facts are not described: There is no mention of his literary career, his book Utopia, or the dispute between Henry VIII and the Pope in Rome. Also the life of More is at times expanded beyond what actually occurred and beyond the sources that were used, in order to suit the drama. What the play is about has been debated, but the issues revolve around obedience to the crown and rule of law, particularly when a populace becomes stirred up in an anti-alien fervor. Even More must obey; when he does not he loses his life.