Symbolism of geography in Thomas More's "Utopia"

Résumé du document

Thomas More was born in 1478 at a time when England was in transition between Feudalism and the early Renaissance. More was a lawyer, a historian, a philosopher and became Henry VIII's chancellor in 1529. When Thomas More refused to convert himself to Protestantism, he was accused of being a traitor and executed in 1535. More was a very learned man as well as a humanist who rediscovered ancient texts such as Plato's Republic, which highly influenced him for the writing of Utopia in 1516. In his work, Thomas More opposes the Society of his time to that of a wonderful and imaginary one: the ideal society of Utopia. The title comes from the Greek ou topos that means "no where", which is not a coincidence and reflects More's idea that such a society is impossible to set up. Thomas More's Utopia is divided into two books: in book one; he indirectly criticizes the English society under the Tudor Dynasty and the settlement of the enclosures system which starved peasantry and has therefore dramatic social consequences. Book two contrasts from book one, in the sense that it describes the Utopian society as an egalitarian one based on common property.

Extraits

[...] 2/The characteristics of its geographical situation Insularity is one of the main features of utopias. In his work, More chose to describe the island of Utopia in order to make it look like England. The access to the island is difficult as the coasts are protected: ] but the coast is rugged by nature and so well fortified that a few defenders could beat off the attack of a strong force.” (on page 31, paragraph 2). Indeed, only the inhabitants of the island know how to avoid the trap of the submerged rocks which protects them from the outside world: channels are known only to the Utopians so hardly any strangers enter the bay without one of their pilots;” (page 31, paragraph 1). [...]

[...] More describes the town of Amaurot like a cell which could be a sample extracted from the island of Utopia. Knowing that all the towns are the same, by studying the structure of one town it is as if he was studying the whole urban structure of the island. Doing this, Thomas More saves space in his narrative, avoiding the description of the fifty four towns. Positive and negative sides of Utopias Uniformity in Thomas More's Utopia makes us think of that of the monastic order. [...]

[...] In dystopias urbanism and architecture do not represent harmony but rather reflect a dehumanized world of dictatorship and totalitarianism. Even though the description of More's Utopian society may convey the feeling that the utopians were not since they lived in cities which forbade privacy, people ate them fill. This is the point made by More, who lived in a society where most people did not have enough to eat. Conclusion In conclusion, we can say that the utopia is the conception of an ideal society within a perfect architecture where human relationships are mechanically and harmoniously planned. [...]

[...] In his work, Thomas More opposes the Society of his time to that of a wonderful and imaginary one: the ideal society of Utopia. The title comes from the Greek ou topos that means where”, which is not a coincidence and reflects More's idea that such a society is impossible to set up. Thomas More's Utopia is divided into two books: in book one; he indirectly criticizes the English society under the Tudor Dynasty and the settlement of the enclosures system which starved peasantry and has therefore dramatic social consequences. [...]

[...] As we know the symbol of the circle was linked to the figure 3 and the square to that of the 4. The figure 3 is a sacred and spiritual number which expresses the result of union between the figure 1 (which symbolises masculinity) and the figure 2 (which symbolises feminity) or in other words, the union between earth and heaven. As far as the figure 4 is concerned, its meaning is linked to wholeness and universality. Many examples of multiples of the figures 3 and 4 are found in Utopia: “fifty-four cities”, “twenty-four miles”, “forty “thirty households” (page 32) “Every six hours” (page 34). [...]