Utopia (book)

Lore & Background

The title De optimo rei publicae statu deque nova insula Utopia literally translates to 'Of a republic's best state and of the new island Utopia.' The first created original name was even longer: Libellus vere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festivus, de optimo rei publicae statu deque nova insula Utopia, which translates to 'A truly golden little book, no less beneficial than entertaining, of a republic's best state and of the new island Utopia.' Utopia is derived from the Greek prefix 'ou-' meaning 'not' and topos meaning 'place,' with the suffix -iā typical of toponyms; the name literally means 'nowhere,' emphasizing its fictionality. In early modern English, Utopia was spelled 'Utopie,' which is today rendered Utopy in some editions. More's very first name for the island was Nusquama, the Latin equivalent of 'no-place,' but he eventually opted for the Greek-influenced name.

Reader's Guide

The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries. The first edition contained a woodcut map of the island of Utopia, the Utopian alphabet, verses by Pieter Gillis, Gerard Geldenhouwer, and Cornelius Grapheus, and Thomas More's epistle dedicating the work to Gillis. The work begins with written correspondence between Thomas More and several people he had met in Europe: Peter Gilles, town clerk of Antwerp, and Hieronymus van Busleyden, counselor to Charles V. More chose those letters, which are communications between actual people, to further the plausibility of his fictional land. The first book tells of the traveller Raphael Hythlodaeus, to whom More is introduced in Antwerp, and it also explores the subject of how best to counsel a prince. The second book describes the island of Utopia, including its geography, government, social organization, and customs, such as the absence of private property, the rotation of houses every ten years, and a six-hour working day.

Did You Know?

• The name Utopia is derived from the Greek prefix 'ou-' meaning 'not' and topos meaning 'place,' literally meaning 'nowhere.'
• More's first name for the island was Nusquama, the Latin equivalent of 'no-place.'
• The first edition contained a woodcut map of the island, the Utopian alphabet, and verses by several authors.
• The island of Utopia is described as crescent-shaped, two hundred miles across at its widest, with a 15-mile wide channel dug by King Utopos.