If you accept prevailing wisdom, it is nothing short of a miracle we have this play. It presents a famously controversial episode in British history when the turmoil from that controversy still raged. For centuries the play was buried from public view, seemingly lost forever.
Most incredibly, it is the only extant play manuscript that includes handwritten verses by William Shakespeare, who composed at least most of one scene. Handwriting experts are convinced, anyway; so are many leading Shakespearean scholars.
So why is Sir Thomas More so hard to get excited about? Is it just because the play is mostly not by Shakespeare? Or is it just because it’s mostly not by anyone?
