Genre
fiction; frame narrative
Setting and Context
Antwerp (Belgium), 1515
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator of Utopia is Thomas More. His first-person narrative is the frame within which the narrative of Raphael Hythloday is contained.
Tone and Mood
skeptical, ironic, contemplative
Protagonist and Antagonist
There are no true protagonists or antagonists in the text.
Major Conflict
The central conflict of the text is a philosophical one, as Utopia encourages the reader to question whether a "perfect society" can indeed exist and whether the portrait painted by Hythloday is as ideal as he perceives.
Climax
The climax of the text occurs when Hythloday tells More and Giles that he has a seen another country that has made him lose faith in European politics.
Foreshadowing
The setting of the text – More's garden – foreshadows the philosophical conversation that will follow. In classic philosophical literature, interlocutors frequently retreated to gardens or other secluded outdoor spaces to have discussions about man, nature, politics, and society.
Understatement
Thomas More (the narrator) often uses understatement to describe his impression of Raphael Hythloday. This understatement makes it difficult to understand whether More likes and respects Hythloday or whether he disagrees with him. More's ambivalent tone has contributed to the many interpretations of the text over time.
Allusions
The text makes frequent allusions to ancient Greek and Roman literature, as well as historical figures from early on in British history.
Imagery
Important imagery in the text includes the garden, ceremonies, animals, and destruction.
Paradox
The central paradox of the text is that Hythloday describes a purportedly perfect society that still, the narrator (More) suggests, seems to have some flawed practices. The text therefore raises the question of whether an ideal society can ever truly exist, and what that society would look like for those involved.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Hythloday uses zoomorphism (an inverse personification) frequently to compare people to animals. These comparisons emphasize Hythloday's perception of European culture in which people are treated like beasts used only for their productivity.
