Occasionally, writers receive undue credit for inventing certain words. Did Shakespeare truly ‘create’ the term ‘alligator’? Or ‘puking’? Or is his usage merely the earliest documented instance we have discovered? In fact, with regards to ‘alligator’, Shakespeare’s reference isn’t even the first recorded use; variations of the term can be traced back to texts from the 1550s, predating Shakespeare’s existence.
However, the word utopia stands out as a definitive creation attributable to a specific author and work of literature. We can pinpoint the origin of utopia with remarkable accuracy: Sir Thomas More coined it in 1516 within his seminal work titled Utopia.
But how did More conjure such a term, and what does it signify? Most individuals recognize Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) for two primary reasons. First, he fell afoul of King Henry VIII when Henry sought to divorce Catherine of Aragon in favor of Anne Boleyn. More, a devout Catholic, could not abide this violation of the Church’s decree: the Pope had declared Catherine to be Henry’s legitimate wife, making divorce an unthinkable act for him.
As Robert Bolt cleverly illustrates in his play A Man for All Seasons, the Pope had provided a special dispensation for Henry to marry Catherine (who was previously married to his late brother). Now, Henry was asking for a reprieve from that very dispensation! More, guided by his conscience, could not consent to such a request.
Moreover, Sir Thomas More was a significant figure in Tudor politics during this turbulent period in English history, but he was also an accomplished writer. The second aspect for which he is widely recognized is his authorship of the book Utopia, which not only coined a term for an imagined perfect society but also established a literary genre: utopian literature or utopian fiction.
In Utopia, which reads like a short novel or a novella, More depicts an imaginary island where the inhabitants thrive under a seemingly flawless political and social system. He sketches out a vision of an ideal society.
For most, reading Utopia in its original form is unlikely. Let’s face it: few people engage with this classic text; despite its manageable length, it often remains unread. Even among those who do attempt the text, many do not read More’s original Latin version; the first English translation did not emerge until 1551, sixteen years after More’s execution. However, the term utopia itself hails from ancient Greek roots, and its etymology harbors a clever pun—or perhaps even a couple of them.
More was well-known for his sharp wit: Robert Whittington famously described him as possessing ‘marvellous mirth’ among his many commendable traits. The term utopia is itself a form of wordplay. It derives from post-classical Latin, which traces back to ancient Greek: οὐ meaning ‘not’ and τόπος meaning ‘place’. Thus, u-topos literally translates to ‘not-place’ or, simply, ‘no place’.
However, the prefix u- sounds akin to eu-, which connotes ‘good’ or ‘well’, as seen in words like eulogy (to speak well of), Eugene (well-born), and, somewhat controversially, eugenics (the now-discredited concept of breeding a superior race). Therefore, while utopia conveys the notion of ‘no place’ or ‘non-place’, it phonetically resembles eutopia, which could imply ‘good place’.
Even without the pun, the term utopia embodies a sardonic notion: not only does the place More describes not exist (it is purely fictional), but such an idealized society could never truly exist in our flawed world. It is, quite simply, too good to be true.
Upon recognizing that the very term utopia is a play on words (both ‘good place’ and ‘no place’—implying ‘too good to be true’), it becomes apparent that More is subtly critiquing the excessive idealism of the world.
There remains a degree of ambiguity regarding whether More genuinely intended to present his vision of a perfect world in Utopia or if he was merely jesting. Nonetheless, given the societal elements within Utopia, such as the acceptance of divorce by mutual consent and the presence of female priests, it seems probable that he was employing satire. His utopia is not even ‘his’ in a personal sense. It would be akin to a contemporary far-right figure crafting a narrative about an ‘ideal society’ characterized by high taxes, the abolition of capitalism, and the establishment of socialism. While feasible, we might suspect that such a depiction would come with a knowing smile.
Furthermore, although More coined the term utopia and subsequently named an entire genre, he did not originate the concept of the fictional utopia. The idea of ideal societies has been a recurring theme in literature since antiquity, beginning with the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh, which portrays a world devoid of death, grief, illness, and aging. Plato’s The Republic further developed this theme, and some scholars have interpreted Plato’s work—similar to More’s own—as satirical in its intent.