Thomas More

=== In literature and popular culture ===
[[William Roper (biographer)|William Roper]]'s biography of More (his father-in-law) was one of the first biographies in Modern English.

''[[Sir Thomas More (play)|Sir Thomas More]]'' is a play written circa 1592 in collaboration between [[Henry Chettle]], [[Anthony Munday]], [[William Shakespeare]], and others. In it More is portrayed as a wise and honest statesman. The original manuscript has survived as a handwritten text that shows many revisions by its several authors, as well as the censorious influence of [[Edmund Tylney]], [[Master of the Revels]] in the government of [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]]. The script has since been published and has had several productions.<ref name="Long, William B. 1989 pages 49">Long, William B. ''The Occasion of the Book of Sir Thomas More''. Howard-Hill, T.H. editor. ''Shakespeare and Sir Thomas More; essays on the play and its Shakespearean Interest''. Cambridge University Press. (1989) {{ISBN|0-521-34658-4}}. pages 49–54</ref><ref>Gabrieli, Vittorio. Melchiori, Giorgio, editors ''Introduction''. Munday, Anthony. And others. ''Sir Thomas More''. Manchester University Press. {{ISBN|0-7190-1544-8}}. Page 1</ref>

In 1941, the 20th-century British author [[Elizabeth Goudge]] (1900–1984) wrote a short story, "The King's Servant", based on the last few years of Thomas More's life, seen through his family, and especially his adopted daughter, Anne Cresacre More.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rawlins |first1=Christine |title=Beyond the snow : the life and faith of Elizabeth Goudge |date=2015 |publisher=Westbow |location=Bloomington, IN |isbn=978-1-4908-8619-0}}</ref>

The 20th-century agnostic playwright [[Robert Bolt]] portrayed Thomas More as the [[tragic hero]] of his 1960 play ''[[A Man for All Seasons (play)|A Man for All Seasons]]''. The title is drawn from what [[Robert Whittington]] in 1520 wrote of More:

<blockquote>More is a man of an angel's wit and singular learning. I know not his fellow. For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability? And, as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes, and sometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons.<ref name="oconnell" /></blockquote>

In 1966, the play ''[[A Man for All Seasons (play)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' was adapted into a [[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|film]] with the same title. It was directed by [[Fred Zinnemann]] and adapted for the screen by the playwright. It stars [[Paul Scofield]], a noted British actor, who said that the part of Sir Thomas More was "the most difficult part I played."<ref>Gary O'Connor (2002), ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books. Page 150.</ref> The film won the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]] and Scofield won the [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor Oscar]]. In 1988 [[Charlton Heston]] starred in and directed a made-for-television film that restored the character of "the common man" that had been cut from the 1966 film.

In the 1969 film ''[[Anne of the Thousand Days]]'', More is portrayed by actor [[William Squire]].

Catholic science fiction writer [[R. A. Lafferty]] wrote his novel ''[[Past Master (novel)|Past Master]]'' as a modern equivalent to More's ''Utopia'', which he saw as a satire. In this novel, Thomas More travels through time to the year 2535, where he is made king of the world "Astrobe", only to be beheaded after ruling for a mere nine days. One character compares More favourably to almost every other major historical figure: "He had one completely honest moment right at the end. I cannot think of anyone else who ever had one."

[[Karl Zuchardt]]'s novel, ''[[Stirb du Narr!]]'' ("Die you fool!"), about More's struggle with [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry]], portrays More as an idealist bound to fail in the power struggle with a ruthless ruler and an unjust world.

In her 2009 novel ''[[Wolf Hall]]'', its 2012 sequel ''[[Bring Up the Bodies]]'', and the final book of the trilogy, her 2020 ''[[The Mirror and the Light]]'', the novelist [[Hilary Mantel]] portrays More (from the perspective of a sympathetically portrayed [[Thomas Cromwell]]) as an unsympathetic persecutor of Protestants and an ally of the Habsburg empire.

Literary critic James Wood in his book ''The Broken Estate'', a collection of essays, is critical of More and refers to him as "cruel in punishment, evasive in argument, lusty for power, and repressive in politics".<ref name="Wood2010">{{cite book|last=Wood|first=James|title=The Broken Estate: Essays on Literature and Belief|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JiI8Kwd6j9AC&pg=PA15|year=2010|publisher=Picador|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-42956-0|page=15}}</ref>

[[Aaron S. Zelman]]'s non-fiction book ''The State Versus the People'' includes a comparison of ''Utopia'' with Plato's ''Republic''. Zelman is undecided as to whether More was being ironic in his book or was genuinely advocating a [[police state]]. Zelman comments, "More is the only Christian saint to be honoured with a statue at the [[Moscow Kremlin|Kremlin]]."{{citation needed|date=April 2011}} By this Zelman implies that ''Utopia'' influenced [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s [[Bolsheviks]], despite their brutal repression of religion.

Other biographers, such as [[Peter Ackroyd]], have offered a more sympathetic picture of More as both a sophisticated philosopher and man of letters, as well as a zealous Catholic who believed in the authority of the [[Holy See]] over [[Christendom]].

The protagonist of [[Walker Percy]]'s novels, ''[[Love in the Ruins]]'' and ''[[The Thanatos Syndrome]]'', is "Dr Thomas More", a reluctant Catholic and descendant of More.

More is the focus of the [[Al Stewart]] song "A Man For All Seasons" from the 1978 album ''[[Time Passages]]'', and of the [[Far (band)|Far]] song "Sir", featured on the limited editions and 2008 re-release of their 1994 album ''[[Quick (album)|Quick]]''. In addition, the song "[[So Says I]]" by indie rock outfit [[The Shins]] alludes to the socialist interpretation of More's ''Utopia''.

[[Jeremy Northam]] depicts More in the television series ''[[The Tudors]] ''as a peaceful man, as well as a devout Roman Catholic and loving family patriarch.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robison |first1=William B. |title=History, fiction, and the Tudors : sex, politics, power, and artistic license in the Showtime television series |date=2016 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York |isbn=978-1-137-43881-2 |page=13}}</ref>

In [[David Starkey]]'s 2009 documentary series ''[[Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant]]'', More is depicted by Ryan Kiggell.

More is depicted by [[Andrew Buchan]] in the television series ''[[The Spanish Princess]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nissen |first1=Dano |title=TV News Roundup: 'The Spanish Princess' Sets New and Returning Cast |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/tv-news-roundup-spanish-princess-casting-real-housewives-of-atlanta-season-12-1203350779/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=26 September 2019}}</ref>

In the years 1968–2007 the [[University of San Francisco]]'s Gleeson Library Associates awarded the annual Sir Thomas More Medal for Book Collecting to private book collectors of note,<ref>[http://www.phil-hum-ren.uni-muenchen.de/W4RF/YaBB.pl?num=1242283350 USF perhaps considering to sell rare books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519071125/http://www.phil-hum-ren.uni-muenchen.de/W4RF/YaBB.pl?num=1242283350 |date=19 May 2021 }}, phil-hum-ren.uni-muenchen.de. Retrieved 19 May 2021.</ref> including [[Elmer Belt]],<ref>[https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/sangorski-manuscript-top-lot-pbas-sale-dr-elmer-belts-collection Sangorski Manuscript a Top Lot at PBA's Sale of Dr. Elmer Belt's Collection], finebooksmagazine.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.</ref> [[Otto Schaefer]],<ref>[[Otto Schaefer]], "Aims in Book Collecting", ''The Record'', Gleeson Library Associates, Number 11, San Francisco: University of San Francisco, 1978.</ref> Albert Sperisen, John S. Mayfield and Lord Wardington.<ref>[https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/6641389.lord-wardington/ Lord Wardington], oxfordmail.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2021.</ref>