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         Source Book Study Questions

Roper's Life of Sir Thomas More, Knight (SB, pp. 16-65)

1. Roper writes this life primarily as a collection of memories to be used by the professional biographer he hired, Nicholas Harpsfield. What aspects of More's life does Roper emphasize? Which aspects does he neglect? (Notice, for example, that Utopia is never mentioned.) What episodes most impressed you?

2. These recollections were written almost twenty years after More's death, only once Queen Mary came to the throne. Roper came to live with the Mores in 1518, while he attended law school, and he married Margaret in 1521. He remains close to Thomas More until More's death in 1535. How would you describe Roper's attitude towards More? What seemed to be More's attitude towards Roper, as indicated in this account?

3. In Erasmus' letter on More, we caught a detailed glimpse of More at a relatively young age, just at the beginning of his service under Henry. Is there consistency between Erasmus' portrait of More's character and Roper's portrait, which in a sense picks up where Erasmus left off by detailing More's professional life in the court? In other words, does More's character remain consistent before and after he enters the king's service?

4. Compare/contrast Roper's understanding of the role of conscience in More's life with Robert Bolt's in A Man for All Seasons and Munday and Shakespeare's in the play, Sir Thomas More.  In which parts of Roper's Life is conscience emphasized most explicitly and why?

5. In Roper's history, why is More so confident in the judgment of his   conscience? What guides and informs that conscience? Are all judgments of the conscience equally reliable? Explain why or why not.

6. Describe More's rhetorical strategy in the dramatic encounter with Cardinal Wolsey in the House of Commons (pp. 25-27).

7. Offer your own portrait of Richard Rich's character, decisions, and actions, and the principles informing his life.

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