More’s Utopia

Textual Analysis

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Textual Divisions

 Title
 Introductory letters
 Part I of Utopia or Dialogues on the role of a scholar
and counselor in the early modern kingdoms
 Part II of Utopia or the Description of the Island of
Utopia and its inhabitants.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Title
 Libellus vere Aureus nec minus salutaris quam festivus de
optimo republicae statu deque noua Insula Vtopia. (original
Latin title of the treatise)
 A truly Golden Handbook, No Less Beneficial than
entertaining of the Best State of the Commonwealth and
New Island of Utopia.
 English translation of the title by Ralph Robinson, the first
English translator of Utopia

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Keywords in the title

 Handbook--- that is readily available for quick reading

 Beneficial and Entertaining---that is it prepares the
intelligent reader to find his own meaning/interpretation.
But since the text was originally published in Latin makes it
apparent that it was not meant for the lay reader.
 Ideal Commonwealth---it is the English translation of
‘optimo republicae statu’ which literally means the best
republican state, not monarchy or any other form of
government. For the informed reader it brings a host of
associations from Plato’s Republic to Cicero’s De Republica.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Introductory letters

 Ralph Robinson translated Utopia into English for the first

time in 1551 which ran into the 2nd edition in 1556.
 By then More had been executed/martyred (1535) at the
behest of King Henry VIII, who had become the head of the
Church in England (1534);
 Henry VIII’s death in 1547 was followed by reigns of
Edward, Henry VIII’s sickly son who died in 1553, leaving
the throne to half-sister Mary, who had planned the return
to Roman Catholicism.
 She reigned till 1558 and was succeeded by Elizabeth I

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Ralph Robinson’s letters

 Ralph Robinson appends to introductory letters with his

translation.
 The first one is addressed to his childhood friend William
Cecil (later Lord Burghley and very important member in
the royal court)
 Robinson clearly states that his very purpose behind the
translation had been the ‘advancement and commodity of
the public wealth of my native country’ and also makes it
point to lament learned Thomas More’s ‘stubborn
obstinacy even to the very death’

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Ralph Robinson’s letters

 In his second introductory letter addressed to the

‘Gentle reader’, Robinson mentions the translation
was not meant to be published. It was prepared for
‘private use’.
 Now when it is finally published ‘against my will’ , all
he can do is to compare his attempt as a throw of
dice in life’s game.
 He also begs for the compassion of the readers.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Introductory letters appended by
More

 Thomas More appends three introductory letters to Utopia

 The first one is from More to Peter Giles, a humanist
scholar and an interlocutor in the text.
 In this long letter More, among other things, expresses his
misgivings at prospect of misinterpretation or adverse
reception of his text.
 It also talks about the group of humanist scholars in the
continent and their meetings and conversations which
now find a voice in Utopia.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Peter Giles’s letter to Jerome
Busyleyden

 Peter Giles, friend and interlocutor to Thomas More in

Utopia, addresses Jerome Busyleyden, counselor to
King Charles as the liberal supporter of good
learning.
 He also gives credence to the possible existence of
Utopia in reality by further mystifying the role of
Raphael Hythloday--- the narrator of his experience in
Utopia in Thomas More’s text.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Second letter of More to Peter Giles

 More takes up the discussion from the previous letter

of Giles and further mystifies the truth behind the
existence of Utopia.
 To Peter Giles he suggests that all the names in text,
including the title itself were very carefully and
cleverly chosen. It is apparently for the intelligent
readers to seek the truth behind them.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part I of Utopia

 According to J H Hexter in all probablity the first part

of Utopia was written after the second part was
already complete.
 More added the part as a necessary introduction to
Hythloday’s description of Utopia in Part II.
 With this Part I More combines travel-adventure
story with the strange account of a society founded
on reason and justice in a country over the far horizon
that gave to Utopia its special appeal.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part I of Utopia

 The convivial atmosphere described by More as setting

against the backdrop of Antwerp, with his host Peter Giles
serves as a perfect setting for the introduction of the globe
trotting, self-educated Raphael Hythloday.
 The name ‘hythloday’ which means peddler of nonsense is
apparently a fit title for a seaman with tall tales.
 More gives evidence that he had read the accounts of at
least three of the expeditions of Amerigo Vespucci, and he
had undoubtedly heard a great deal of talk of various other
recent discoveries; thus Hythloday’s narrative becomes a
part of Renaissance travel writing discourse.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part I of Utopia

 More and Giles argue that every man of wide

experience and personal integrity has an obligation to
play an active role in the service of his country and to
attempt, to the fullest extent of his powers.
 Hythloday's response takes up most of the remainder
of Book I.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part I of Utopia
 Hythloday's response takes up most of the remainder of
Book I.
 Hythloday's case constitutes a survey of, and an attack
upon, the entire social and governmental system in Europe
generally and in England most specifically.
 The fact that Hythloday places the discussion of conditions
in England at the home of Cardinal Morton is interesting
inasmuch as Thomas More was well acquainted with the
cardinal, having lived at his home as a boy.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part I of Utopia

 Hythloday's analysis of English laws and customs is an

expression of More's own views. Certainly the
humanitarian attitude expressed regarding beggars,
disabled veterans, the aged and infirm conforms to
what we know of More's character.
 Every point raised in Hythloday's criticism of current
practices in England is subtly preparing for the
contrast to be drawn later on in the book between
Europe and Utopia.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part I of Utopia

 The next description of Hythloday is Hypothetical Meeting

of the French Council.
 Hythloday's projection of the French council of state
shows him (and More) to be well acquainted with the
prevailing doctrines and practices in international politics.
 The list of those policies, including ruthless acquisition of
territory or governmental control, the cynical breaking of
treaties, and the suborning of officers in the opposing
government gives a fine capsule picture of the methods
for successful rulers according to Machiavelli in The Prince.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part I of Utopia

 In the last section of the Part I Hythloday describes his visit

to the Achorians, which serves as a preamble to the later
description of Utopia.
 Hythloday also takes the criticism of the prevalent
economic policies in Europe by narrating about an
imaginary meeting.
 Hythloday is touching on a vital point in political
philosophy when he draws the contrast between the
doctrine of the infallibility of kings and the royal rights to
the kingdom, as opposed by the claim that rulers obtain
their right to reign with the consent of the governed.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part I of Utopia

 After Hythloday's ruthless dissection of the European

social, economic, and political system, he finally explains
the alternate system which he would propose. It would
obviously cause a great upheaval because it is based, first
of all, on the elimination of private property and of money.
On that foundation many ramifications are to be
developed and many advantages will accrue which
contribute to a life of reason, justice, and happiness. It is
difficult for More and Giles to imagine how people could
live under such a system, but Hythloday has made such a
strong impression that they are eager to hear his full
account of the Utopian commonwealth

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part II of Utopia

 Thus the description of Utopia comes in a way of

illustration for Hythloday’s argument of what an ideal
state or commonwealth should be.
 In Hythloday’s description the island kingdom given a
name, Utopia, but much data is reported in business
like fashion of numbers and measurements, lending
an air of credibility to the story. This is the same
device that was later employed with consummate
skill by Swift in Gulliver's Travels.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part II of Utopia

 It will be noticed that through the early portion of Book II

topics are treated in brief, rather matter-of-fact fashion. As
the work progresses, it becomes increasingly discursive
and philosophical.
 The description of the city of Amaurot demonstrates
further the listing of details calculated to give the
impression that the report comes from a man who has
been there: the slope of the ground, the width of the river,
the effect of the tides on the river, the location of the
bridge, and its type of construction all convey an
impression of actuality.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part II of Utopia

 The trouble with modern European society lies in the fact

that a considerable segment of society, the leisure class,
fails to contribute significantly to any necessary
productivity.
 The Utopians, according to Hythloday have found the
answer. Nearly everybody works at a productive trade, and
the result is that they get the work done in a six hour day.
 It is interesting to reflect on their not gambling. That fits
into their attitude on other moral issues.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part II of Utopia

 One of the features that sets More's Utopia apart from numerous other
works in the Utopian tradition is the importance placed on the family. It is
the primary unit in the structure of society. It furnishes the centre for human
companionship, instruction, discipline, and loyalty.
 But this idea of family is not apparently based on wealth. The Utopians have
not only eliminated money from their economy, they have devised
psychological methods to teach their people to despise those precious
metals that are used for money in other countries.
 In commenting on this passage, Hythloday notes some of the absurdities in
attitudes found in countries where certain people are admired, almost
revered, because they have a large store of gold, even though they may be
poorly endowed with judgment or generosity.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part II of Utopia

 On the point of learning and philosophy Hythloday finds

the Utopians to be self taught, but puerile in their
achievement.
 But they accept what Hythloday offers. The inclusion of
the long list of Greek authors whose books Hythloday gave
to his hosts serves as an example of the enthusiasm of the
age for classical culture. Altogether, this section of the
book stamps it as a representative product of the
Renaissance. Even the mention of introducing the
Utopians to the craft of printing conveys something of the
sense of pride in the achievements of the age.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part II of Utopia

 One of the controversial ideas of Utopia is the system of slavery which is

practiced in the land.
 Slaves were either criminals who had been convicted for serious crimes, or
prisoners taken in battle, or foreigners who subjected themselves willingly
to slavery in Utopia because they were under the death penalty in their own
country or because of a life of unendurable poverty and drudgery in their
homeland.
 Hythloday’s support for such custom may have the background of his
knowledge of slavery in the classical period.
 It is also to be noted that the treatment of slaves in Utopia was, in some
respects, humane. Hythloday's justification of the practice, if we may judge
from his discussion of the penal code in Book I, would have been that it is far
better to sentence criminals to performing useful labor for the state than to
hang them.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part II of Utopia

 As regards to the other aspects of Utopian life–

marriages and divorce, laws, travelling, of the
treatment of the sick– Hythloday’s description
contain a mixture of admiration and absurdity. It is
often by following very the extremes of reasonable
action possible, they tend to become absurd and
ridiculous.
 This is reflected in the description of the marriage
customs as well as in the practice of euthanasia.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Part II of Utopia

 One of the last things to which Hythloday devotes a considerable part of his
description is the religion in Utopia.
 Hythloday's account of the state of religion in Utopia reveals numerous
points of resemblance to Christianity but also some striking differences from
certain religious practices in 1516.
 The fact that the Utopians accept the truth of Christianity readily is a proof
of their enlightened attitude towards religions and religious tolerance.
 The ways in which the Utopian religion differs from orthodox Catholicism
happen to conform to modifications recommended by reformers for the
Catholic church. The question naturally arises as to whether or not More
was recommending those modifications along with other reformer-critics,
like Erasmus, for example. It is not possible to prove either that More did or
did not subscribe to those changes on the basis of textual evidence.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Peroration-- Part II of Utopia
 In presenting his final statement, Hythloday focuses his argument in favour of
the Utopians on a few major points.
1. The core of their system is the community of property and the elimination of
money. Almost everything else that is vital to the system stems from those
regulations.
2. Under such conditions the ordinary causes for competition among
individuals do not exist, and as a consequence the motivation for many
crimes associated with rivalry and greed is effectively eradicated.
3. The advantages of the Utopian system are here emphasized, as they are so
often through the book, by contrasting that system with the laws and
customs of contemporary Europe.
4. Competition in European nations is fierce and crime is rife, but a principal
source of dissatisfaction is the terrible inequity in the distribution of wealth,
especially considering how little the members of the privileged class do to
deserve their comforts and luxuries.
5. As a final recommendation, Hythloday points to the fact that the Utopian
way of life conforms to the great principles of Christianity, whereas no such
claim could be made for the so-called Christian countries
Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U
 More’s concluding remarks

 More marvels at the strangeness of Hythloday’s account

but,he notes the absurdity in parts of it.
 While he arranges for a well--earned respite for Hythloday,
exhausted of talking for so long, he remarks ''however,
there are many things in the Commonwealth of Utopia
that I rather wish, than hope, to see followed in our
government.'‘
 In the last sentence of the book there is a summation
which seems to ring true. What it says in essence is that he
would like to see many, though not all, of those practices
adopted in Europe but that he has little hope of that
happening.
Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U
 Conclusion

 Now as I conclude discussing the contents of More’s

Utopia, I would like you to concentrate on the
following.
a. Relationship between Parts I and II of Utopia
b. Utopia and the socio-political responsibility of
‘Humanist’ scholar
c. The dialogic nature of the narrative in Utopia
d. More’s complex attitude towards Utopia and the
idealistic possibilities it represent.

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U

 Thank You.
Stay safe and Study

Debapriya Paul Dept of English, C U