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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.
In the storyThe Story of UtopiasOpen this moment free

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 connections

A slice of how Sir Thomas More sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

PLPlatoRHRaphael Hythlo…JAJohn Amos Come…JVJohann Valenti…MBMax BeerSTSir Thomas More

Relationship types

  • Other

Character groups

  • Diverse Utopian Thinkers
  • Protagonist
  • Early Utopian Authors

+12 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

SetupEscalationAftermathClimax
  • 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…

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In the story

Sir Thomas More appears across 28 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

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