Locus Amoenus
We're in Latin territory now, folks. Locus amoenus means a "pleasant place" and it's a common literary space where people chill out. Typically, it's a garden, somewhere with lots of nature going on...
Pride
Of all the many faults Hythloday finds with European society (there are lots!), pride is numero uno. At the end of his description of Utopia he spends a lot of time explaining just how bad pride ca...
Fool
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice... well, there's only one Fool in Utopia. But this Fool has the special distinction being both a character and a symbol."There was a parasite standing arou...
New World Discovery
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue... only 15 years before Thomas More wrote Utopia. Yep, that's right—only recently had the possibility of discovering entirely unknown, new worlds become a...
The Weary Traveler
He's mysterious, he's older, he'd rather pessimistic, he's "seen things," he's been changed... this, friends, is the weary traveler, a famous figure (always a man, we're afraid) who appears in tale...
The Island
We know Utopia is an island. In fact, the first king, Utopus, physically turned it into an island, so if you're thinking that's got to be important, you're on the right track. Check it out:"They sa...