Comparing Margaret Cavendish’s The Description of a New World, Called the Blazing World and Sir Tho

The sixteenth century brought many to focus more abundantly on the internal trials rather than the outward appearances of individuals. This caused various writers and philosophers to begin evaluating the importance of every person. Because of this, the idea of renaissance humanism was inevitably created. In simple terms, humanism is the belief that every individual, putting aside his or her rank, is of equal importance. A better understanding of renaissance humanism can be reached after reviewing the shift in society, religious change, and moral belief of the sixteenth century. Many literary works, including Sir Thomas More’s Utopia and Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, helped to shape the ideals of renaissance humanism. These

Like everyone, Sir Francis Bacon and Margaret Cavendish had differing opinions of a perfect, utopian society. For Bacon, his utopia is a society whose culture venerates science and scientists. Where science is not at odds with religion, and scientific advancement is very rapid. Bacon’s society is also vastly Christian, with the only non-Christian being Bartholomew, a father of Solomon’s House who’s Jewish. Cavendish, who also appreciates the scientific method doesn’t put as much focus on it as Bacon does. Cavendish’s society put’s far more focus on society who exalts their monarch with almost the same respect as a deity, social unification through said monarch and a nondenominational god.

The 17th Century marked an Age of Discovery for both new sea routes and new ways of expressing erotic lust. The Anglican Church of England continued to be the powerholder over England, enforcing the dominant religion and the jurisdiction over those who opposed it. However, after the English Civil War the Church’s power began to fluctuate and other religions including Christianity were gaining religious and civil rights. Embracing steps towards religious recognition Marvell’s ‘Bermudas’ takes the idea of faith to a sensual level, using metaphors to uncover a promised Eden and erotic lust. Marvell’s approach to lust through religion is unimaginable, how is he able to mask his love for women through his faith in God? He embraces New World language to explore faith in God and lust for his promised land. In order to understand Marvell’s use of lust in a religious way I will uncover how his New World language expresses love in Religious Persecution, Faith and an eagerness for Virgin territory.

Utopia gives a subtle voice to More’s scathing critiques on greedy incompetence of King Henry VIII, by presenting controversial solutions implemented in ‘utopian’ societies such as Utopia and Tallstoria, in the hope of creating a real debate on More’s fundamental concerns in his society. While Book 1

. “An island Utopia in a modern, busy, everyday world. A land where there are neither rich nor poor. A heaven on earth without a fence around it” (William Wrigley Jr). In the 16th century, Sir Thomas More wrote the book called Utopia. The book was to show in other words how he had the disapproved the way the government was ruling over England and began to describe how it should be. In his time, England had been ruled by King Henry VIII; during which Sir Thomas More was known as his right hand man but before he had become a part of politics More had also been a loving father of three daughters and a son and a Catholic. The religious man was admired by many due to his charm and intelligence. He became a lawyer before he became a successful politician.

From very early on it is clear More’s religious views play a large part in writing this perfect society being as the character from Utopia is referred to as Raphael, a name also given to one of the archangels in the bible, and while religious freedom is viewed as a positive in the text his live outside of the book proves he was very likely against this idea. It is best worded by Stanford Kessler in their article “Religious Freedom in Thomas More’s Utopia”

More opposed the Protestant Reformation along with Henry VIII’s decision to separate from the Catholic Church. Since Henry VIII wanted to separate from the church, More refused to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England along with the annulment of his marriage. Since he refused to acknowledge Henry VIII’s title and take the Oath of Supremacy, he was convicted of treason and beheaded. More was entirely devoted to the Catholic Church and the decisions of Henry VIII were against what he believed in. More wrote Utopia as a way to contrast the conscientious life of European states with the orderly, reasonable social arrangements of Utopia. More felt a sense of guilt that his king, the one person that he served, went against everything he believed in. By writing Utopia, More imagines a world that is perfect by following what God would want as a world. Because More could not produce this in the real world, he resorts to describing it in his novel where everything is perfect and there is no such thing as private. More wants his Utopia to one day be reality, where people no longer have to partake in role playing or the play of appearances. When More looks at the world he wants to see clarity instead of madness. More has some guilt regarding the fact that he could no produce a world in which God would be proud of; instead he created a world of the outer (public)

Sir Thomas More was a lawyer in London. Favored by King Henry VIII for his intellect and satire, he quickly rose to be the Lord Chancellor. He was a known humanist and catholic, two characteristics that greatly affected his view of government and his writings about it. It wasn’t until the King turned the whole country protestant that More showed a dislike of monarchy. In his most famous work, Utopia, he explores a different kind of government that bears more resemblance to a republic than a monarchy.

The Renaissance was a period of time in history where there was a revival in art and literature, but more importantly a rise of different ideologies. In the early sixteenth century two profound writers distinguished themselves through their ideas of promoting a better society in which they lived in. Authors Thomas More and Niccolo Machiavelli both came up with a system of ideas and ideals for how they thought society should be run whether a Prince was ruling or the government. Thomas More tried to change a man’s way of thinking on how a country should be run by creating an ideological society in his book Utopia.

Thomas More was not the first person to write about a Utopian society, but he did coin the term utopia which means “not place” in Greek. Utopia was written in Latin and published in 1516. It is said to be Thomas More’s most influential work. More’s utopian society had complete employment, the citizens are not fixated on money, and are tolerant towards others in the community (Forward). In this essay, we will analyze Utopia’s role in the common laws, the religious freedoms, and dystopia/utopia similarities throughout More’s literature.

In Utopia and A Man for All Seasons, written by Thomas More, More analyses politics through different perspective. More travels to Antwerp as an ambassador for England and King Henry the VIII. Here More is introduced to Raphael Hythloday, a veteran traveler. Hythloday has a great depth of knowledge and understanding of governments of many nations and in the book it recounts their conversations.Utopia gives readers insight in the the ways politics are influenced and through More’s and Raphael’s experience one can notice the different ways persuasion is used with in politics. Raphael’s story about theft and punishment can be used to note how to persuade advisors to the Kings, and More’s ideas between “civilized” and “academic” advice can be used to persuade the King. In A Man for All Seasons, More is faced with the decision to save his life or protect his integrity.

Thomas More an internationally famous author, vigorous polemicist, an influential statesman and a catholic martyr. A man of many talents to say the least, was born on February 7th, 1478 in London, England. Throughout More’s life he accomplished many things including becoming a well-respected lawyer, appointed as Cardinal Wolsey as Lord Chancellor, being a part of the trade embassy, becoming speaker of the house in 1523, being a part of the court of Henry VIII are some of his most famous accomplishments. But above all those he is most well-known for writing the book Utopia. A book about an ideal society. Throughout his book you can find political and legal references while connecting it to our own political environment today.

In “Utopia, Utopia’s Neighbors, Utopia, and Europe,” Robert Shepard focuses on how the interactions of the Utopians with their neighbors are analogous with the effect More intended Utopia to have on Europe. Shepard is a professor of history at Elmira College whose research centers on the Renaissance and early modern Europe. The model of the Utopian interactions with their neighbors illustrates how More is urging his readers to support and protect established European institutions. Shepard argues that Utopia also highlights Sir Thomas More’s conundrum on whether to serve

The Utopian genre has evolved over a number of decades in order to experiment with changing values and ideals of the ever-evolving societies of the times. Thomas More’s Utopia defined a new literary genre within the 16th century and onwards, allowing for an array of texts to explore the particular ideals and values that were often preached during the respective time period but never formally recognized. This is also the case for Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia, a utopian text written in the 1970s, attaching fundamental importance to the restoration of the natural world and the feminist values of Ecotopian society. The development of the genre from the 16th to 20th centuries is evident through the differences in principles that are addressed in each text, all of which are a reflection of the values of their respective time periods.

Utopia, by Sir Thomas More, is a socio-political commentary on the state of 16th century English society. Originally published in 1516, More’s work has divided scholars on his intentions; whether he wanted for readers to seriously consider his ideas as a blueprint for society, or whether Utopia was merely an avenue for satire on his country. By examining how the text is presented, as well as features of Utopian society, including communal property, its absence of sin, and their impracticality in Tudor England, it can be argued that More does not expect readers to conclude that Utopia is the best of commonwealth.