Thomas More was a writer in the Renaissance period.
- – He was a pioneer of travel writing and a political critic of the English monarchy
- – He was involved in the scandals between the Church and King Henry VIII: he opposed the King’s divorce and his second marriage – because of that he was beheaded
- His most famous work is Utopia:
- – we believe the term ‘utopia’ was coined by More himself; Utopia = nowhere land, imaginary society
- – the search for Utopia = the search for the perfect government (equal right for men and women, free will in religion)
- – Political science fiction
- – 2 books:
- o Book 1 analyses the evils of his age in an ironic, realistic manner
- o Book 2 is satirical – state with religious tolerance, physical comforts, honesty and good faith
- – Translated into many language and an inspiration to many other authors (Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe; Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels; William Golding’s Lord of The Flies; Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World;…)