Utopia Lesson Plan

Discuss the motif of societal perfection that arises at the start of Book Two.

In Book Two, Raphael Hythloday develops the motif of perfection. A series of images and symbols support the notion of Utopia as a good place (and Utopians as the ideal people). Garden imagery is prevalent in Book Two, presenting an allusion to the Biblical Garden of Eden.

Utopians enjoy many gardens and love to garden. In symbolic terms, the Utopians enjoy a pure, Edenic life, free of many real-world concerns. On a practical level, the garden imagery also reflects the agricultural skill and abundant harvests of the Utopians. The strength of the civilizations is seen in the life and vitality...