In Act I Scene 1, the book introduces you to some of its' main characters. Sir Thomas and Master Richard Rich are first to be introduced. Rich is offered a job as a school teacher, but he wants to be in office. Sir Thomas gives Rich a silver cup that was given to him as a bribe by a woman who put a lawsuit into the Court of Requests. After giving Rich the cup, Sir Thomas tells Rich of all the temptations you have when you are in office-money, manors, villages, mills, etc. Then enter the Duke of Norfolk and Lady Alice, Sir Thomas's wife, and Margaret More, Sir Thomas's daughter. The Duke of Norfolk, who is Earl Marshall of England, is in his late 40's, a sportsman, a soldier, and a great nobleman. Lady Alice is in her late 40's, born into merchant's class, but now a great lady. Margaret is in her middle 20's, beautiful with moral fineness. A letter is delivered to Sir Thomas More in which it says that the Cardinal needs to talk to him about King's business, immediately. Everyone is shocked that Sir Thomas has to leave now, because it's 11:00 at night. In Scene 2, Sir Thomas is at Cardinal Wolsey's. Wolsey is old with a big decayed body. Wolsey asks for Sir Thomas's help. The King wants a son and Catherine cannot get him one. He wants the King to get a divorce for "State reasons." Sir Thomas doesn't agree, so Wolsey says he was an enemy in him, until he "comes down to earth." In Scene 3, Sir Thomas is looking for a boat, and Cromwell approaches him. Thomas Cromwell is in his late 30's, subtle, serious, and an intellectual bully. Cromwell is on his way to see the Cardinal and wants to know how things went with him and Sir Thomas. Signor Chapuys shows up. He is the Spanish Ambassador who is in like 60's and a professional diplomat. Chapuys tells Sir Thomas that the King of Spain would be very insulted if Catherine were to be hurt or insulted. He uses this as a kind of threat to Sir Thomas, as if to make sure Catherine will not get hurt. In Scene 4, when Sir Thomas comes home, he finds out that William Roper is there with Lady Margaret. Roper wants to marry Margaret, but Sir Thomas says he cannot as long as he is a heretic. Sir Thomas tells William to get a horse out of the stable and go home. When Lady Alice and Lady Margaret try to talk to Sir Thomas about his visit with Wolsey, Thomas just ignores them. Lady Alice says that Norfolk was talking about Sir Thomas for Chancellor, and Sir Thomas says he wouldn't want to be Chancellor because Wolsey is Chancellor now, and because of that, Norfolk shouldn't be saying he wants Sir Thomas to be Chancellor. In Scene 5, Rich and Cromwell are talking and you find out that Rich is now the Duke's secretary, and that Sir Thomas is now Chancellor. Sir Thomas's steward, Matthew, is at Cromwell's and is serving as Cromwell's spy, although he never tells Cromwell anything worth hearing. Matthew is also a spy for Chapuys, but tells him nothing important. In Scene 6, the King comes for a "surprise" visit. He is clean-shaven, bright eyed, graceful, athletic, and his clothing is made of gold. The King asks Sir Thomas if he has thought about the divorce with Catherine, and Sir Thomas says that he doesn't agree with

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Approximate Word count = 2154
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)