As the play is Older Than Steam, all spoilers on this page are unmarked.
Sir Thomas More is a sixteenth-century play about, well, Sir Thomas More. Or to be more precise, about his rise and fall during the last period of his life.
The play was written by multiple authors - as of 2023, the prevailing theory is that it was co-written by Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle, but then amended by Thomas Dekker, Thomas Heywood and William Shakespeare.
It's believed that the play was written between 1591 and 1593, but there is unclear evidence as to whether or not it was actually performed at that time. The first fully documented performance was not until centuries later, in 1922.
Tropes in Sir Thomas More:
- Foregone Conclusion: The fact that More died for his beliefs in the real world makes it obvious that he won't back down, or survive, in the play either.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: More's good sides are the focus in the play, which is designed to paint him in a flattering light. His support of burning heretics and his opposition to free speech go unmentioned.
- The Pardon: Lincoln is executed before word is able to reach the executioner that the king has decreed that none of the rioters are to lose their lives. Therefore, the earl of Surrey pardons the rest of them, as a sort of compensation for Lincoln's execution.
- Pungeon Master: More enjoys making puns on his surname. In fact, he makes... more of them than anybody else.
- Serious Business: Jack Falconer is prepared to do jail time rather than get his hair cut. Well, for a while.
- Shaming the Mob: More calms down a rioting, xenophobic crowd by pointing out that they might get banished from England for their disorderly behavior, and what are they going to do if the inhabitants of the country where they get banished show the same xenophobic attitude towards them?
