The Story of Utopias · Character
Sir Thomas More
The English humanist whose Utopia gave the genre its name and its founding joke: a perfect commonwealth described by a sailor who may or may not be telling the truth.
major
Also known as More, Sir Thomas
First appearance: The Story of Utopias
As a major figure in The Story of Utopias, Sir Thomas More is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.
Author of 'Utopia,' which coined the term and established the literary genre of ideal commonwealths.
More's island, reported by the scholar-sailor Raphael Hythloday, is the book's original case that nowhere can still be real news. Mumford returns to him again and again to insist that ideas, fantasies, and projections act on the world as forcefully as any post Dr. Johnson kicked. More matters because he made the imaginary commonwealth a serious instrument of criticism, not a mere escape.
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Character Web
17 connectionsA slice of how Sir Thomas More sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.
Relationship types
- Other
Character groups
- Diverse Utopian Thinkers
- Protagonist
- Early Utopian Authors
+12 more in the full Character Web
Open in readerNarrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the traveller falls in love with a girl who bears a striking…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingIn the story
Sir Thomas More appears across 28 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.
- The Story of Utopias
- I
- V
- How something happened to utopia between Plato and Sir Thomas More; and how utopia was discovered again, along with the New World.
- I
- III
- IV
- V
- +20 more
Chapter companion notes
Spoil-light check-ins for Sir Thomas More unlock in the free preview.
See Sir Thomas More in The Story of Utopias