TH. MORE, UTOPIA
THE SOURCES OF UTOPIA:
- High culture - connected with humanity .The source of Utopia are in texts of Ancient Greek e.g. Plato. The texts only educated people could know
- Popular culture – not sophisticated, travel writing is a part of popular culture
TARGET AUDIENCE
- It is a philosophical game with a reader. There are plenty of suggestions (I don’t know them) that Utopia as such is a sophisticated game with a reader.
- Not ordinary people, readers (we) but philosophers, humanists are the target audience. The text is dedicated to brother humanists philosophers
- It was written in Latin so not everybody should read it.
- Only well-educated people could understand the game: Plenty references to other texts aimed at educated readers, mixture of popular and high culture, duality – this cause that it is not for everybody.
I think the game is to deceive people to believe in Utopia. The target audience have to solve it.
DUALITY OF THE TEXT (THE STRUCTURE - NARRATOR, etc.)
T Two narrators and methods of narration (assertive and evasive (described in detail later))
o More
A diplomat, well-educated, lawyer, family man
o Raphael
A sailor, well-educated, travelled a lot, equivalent of Ulissas (who set up Utopia), philopher
His presentation allows us to believe in what he says, in his description of Utopia
T The division into two books
o Book I – presentation of contemporary word (England)
o Book II – presentation of Utopia (all things presented differently)
T The text provides similarities between two countries
o two islands,
T the numerous cities and the huge contrast
o Utopia has customs outrageous for contemporary England e.g.: adultery was punished with death, before marriage spouses were presented to each other naked. In Utopia – no money, they shared everything
T The title may be understood in 2 ways:
Utopia is the word whose meaning isn’t so obvious
o ETOP – good place ‘happy place’
o UTOP – no place – ‘nowhere’
T Two different subject matters (I think it is the structure of England and Utopia)
T Meaning mutually subvert (zadawać kłam) each other. (one meaning is questioned by the other, no instance that would suggest the right answer e.g.: ETOP of UTOP?)
T Duality in influences and sources
CREDIBILITY OF THE NARRATORS:
T The narrators create a feeling of credibility (wiarygodność)
T They, both are well-educated and none of them is presented as a superior
o More – a family man, man rooted in society, in England
o Raphael – he is a sailor, he left society, he left England
T Their credibility is questioned because of the meaning of the names they have
· More in Latin is Morus which means ‘a fool’
· Raphael is an angelic name but his surname:
Hythloday in Latin means a person who is skilled in telling nonsense
So it indicates that we shouldn’t trust them and whatever they say should be taken with a distance
The meaning of everything in the text is questioned and this is another example
EVASIVE AND ASSERTIVE METHODS OF PRESENTATION:
2 different narrative methods.
T Assertive method
· Connected with quoting documents, collecting proofs, giving concrete numbers, data (e.g.: giving latitude, longitude, numbers of inhabitants, etc.)
· The aim of giving the proofs is to guarantee that what was said is true and it is a suggestion that we should believe in what is being said (it is a way of creating the idea of credibility)
T Evasive method
· Trying to avoid giving concrete data, names, numbers, places – no specific proofs, often while describing something one says that a particular fact just was forgotten
· Some things are so obvious that a narrator avoids mentioning them
· Avoiding giving any kind of data intentionally cause a creation of fiction
The methods are balanced by questioning.
Assertive method suggest credibility
Evasive method suggests fiction
VERISIMILITUDE AND ESTRANGEMENT
(pozory rzeczywistosci, podobienstwo, prawdopodobnienstwo - separacja )
VERISIMILITUDE - fictional interest in the exotic
ESTRANGEMENT - it is probably connected with strange things which appear in Utopia.
Not reliable
FAMILIARITY AND OTHERNESS
(podobieństwo - odmienność)
T Similarities between Utopia and contemporary England
· The same number of cities 54
· All islands
T Difference between those two – different organization and customs
· Sharing everything – unthinkable for Englishmen
· Adultery punished with death in Utopia
· Presentation in nude of two spouse-to-be before marrying
Described earlier
EXPOSURE OF FICTIONALITY
T Placing the account of Utopia between stories about monsters (the conversation in the garden – ?) suggest that the story is fictional
GENERALIC COMPLEXITY OF THE TEXT
T PHILOSOPHICAL SATIRE:
Social, political criticism of institutions and their functioning, very popular type in literature
T PLATONIC DIALOGUE
Presented the way of thinking speaking about sth abstract and rhetorical, speech of one person, not a conversation, questioning a point for conversation (one person speaking, there are some questions but as prompts short ones, it moves the narration going)
T TRAVEL WRITING
Travel accounts, description of the country, connected with geographical exploration, discoveries, need of sensation, climate, plants – everything is presented from the point of view of Europeans. It is for purposes of European government
T SERMON
At the end the narrator (Raphael) addresses the reader directly (rhetorical sin and virtue, Raphael speaks about pride and money)
T DEBATE and PHILOSOPHICAL TREATY
T MANIPPEAN SATIRE
It tries to ridicule system of thinking especially the one which suggest that they have monopoly for truth or meaning, this satire uses representative of such system, usually confronts them with each other – 2 different system, both think they’re right – both lie, are ridicules. More vs. Raphael – they present different systems – they don’t agree, we don’t know who is right, both points of view are ridiculed by the text (Latin equivalent of their names)
T POLIPHONIC TEXT
It engages us into a discussion, to discuss ideas written in the text. The text doesn’t give any solutions but makes us discuss different views
T CARNIVALOUS LITERATURE
Utopia belongs to this literature which deals with sth which is permanent, everything is contemporary and doesn’t last long, sth what is different from everyday but temporary
RHETORICAL DEVICES
Rhetoric:
COMPASS DICTIONARY:
1- speech or writing that is intended to influence people, but that is not completely honest or sincere
2- the skill of using language in speech or writing in a special way that influences or entertains people
It was aimed to influence society in England by the image of Utopia.
THE TITLE + NAMES OF CHARACTERS – DESTABILISATION OF THE MEANING
T Utopia
T Names of the narrators
It was discussed earlier
RELATIVISM
· Customs and institutions in Utopia refer to Utopian values
· All what work for Utopians – their system may seem strange and ridiculous for us and may not work in different society e.g. ours and the other way round/ Everything may be questioned depending on values in a society
Ylayda