St. Thomas More's Utopia has been the subject of considerable debate over the past 75 years. It claims to be concerned with the 'best state of a commonwealth', but how is it concerned? It is a strange little book that records a fictional dialogue between More, his friend Peter Giles, and a very impulsive and opinionated traveler named Raphael Hythloday. Hythloday has recently returned from a voyage, and the Utopia is mostly taken up with a detailed account of the bizarre customs, laws, and rituals of a people he encountered in a place called Utopia. Hythloday praises them as the best and wisest people. More remains skeptical, but does acknowledge that certain of the Utopian practices have merit. The reader is therefore left wondering whether More created this fictional commonwealth to provide a model for reform, or whether he created it as a satire. This thesis has sought to contribute to the wealth of research on this topic, by interpreting the enthusiasm of Hythloday and the skepticism of More as evidence that More did not intend the Utopia to be taken literally, but neither did he intend for it to be read solely as satire. He meant for the Utopia to be a springboard for discussion and debate. He meant to create a platform to address issues plaguing European commonwealths. I have come to this conclusion by interpreting the Utopia within its historical and literary context. In this thesis I examine the circumstances of the Utopia's publication and distribution; the intellectual and cultural influences of Renaissance England, and More's immediate circumstances in the year 1515 when he wrote the Utopia. I then move from a general study of the Utopia to a more concentrated study of its content where I provide a character analysis of More, Giles and Hythloday. I also examine the inconsistencies inherent within the pages of the Utopia, as well as the inconsistencies that existed between More's life and the ideals he seemingly espoused within the Utopia. Lastly, I examine the Utopia in comparison to many of More's other works on the subjects of religion and property such as the Dialogue Concerning Heresies, A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, and More's letters, poems and prayers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/28419 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Hood, David James Sarty |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 177 p. |
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