Symbolism in AMFAS

Robert Bolt uses symbolism to great effect within AMFAS. One of the main symbols is this of the river and water. In order to see the symbolism and the idea of the metaphor we have to first understand the characteristics of the river and water, that is that water can generally go where it wants, in paticular a river never runs straight it moves to suit itself, if it can't go in one direction it will quickly seek another, (remind you of any Tudor monarchs?) The first example of the use of this symbolism is when More is returning from Wolseys house and meets the boatman on the river. It is here that he is intercepted by both Cromwell and Signor Chapuys both of whom are trying to find out what More's conversation was about with Wolsey, and which side that More is taking in regards to the divorce. Both Chapuys and Cromwell leave feeling that More is on their side, which of course More has not revealed any particular leanings to either side. More then comments to the boatman that 'the river looks very black tonight. They say it is silting up, is that so?' In this case we can take the river to represent the moral landscape of England. The river they are talking about is the river Thames which is an icon of England and the London landscape.So, if the river indeed represents the moral environment of England and in particular that of the monarchy and government, then if the river is black it means that the morals of England are looking black, which could be construed as meaning that there is a loss of morals and this may refer to the fact of Henry wanting to seek the divorce or annulment of the marriage to Catherine. More also mentions it is silting up which suggest that it is getting harder and harder to move in this moral landscape and that you will eventually become stuck. On page 17 the boatman replies 'Not in the middle, sir. There's a channel there getting deeper all the time.' This suggests that it is More that is stuck in the middle and the fact that it is getting deeper could mean that More is becoming more and more seperated from what Henry and Cromwell want to achieve that he could eventually find himself in some trouble in the deep water and may in fact drown.

The second sybolic feature in the play is the gilded cup which More offers Rich at the start of the play. The cup was given to More as a bribe to help in a legal case he was looking in to. More does not want to keep the cup as it is tainted,and in his offering it to Rich it is almost as if he is testing him to see whether he is morally upstanding. Rich of course takes the cup which shows that he he is not too fussed about accepting these tainted goods. Rich states that he will sell the cup to buy some clothes like More's, suggesting he wants what More has, i.e status and power. This suggests that Rich is more Machiavellian and is prepared to do whatever it takes in order to move up in the world.