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Oxymorons
Definition of Paradox
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar Wilde's famous declaration that "Life is... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel... read full definition
Book 2: Of Their Towns, Particularly of Amaurote
Explanation and Analysis—Utopian Names:
Many of the names of Utopian towns and landmarks are oxymoronic, including the word "utopia" itself. Utopia is a country, yet the word utopia comes from the Greek meaning "no place." Utopia does not exist: it is a country, but its very name declares that it is imaginary. Similarly, "Anyder"—the name of the river in Utopia—closely translates to "no water," also from Greek. Raphael describes this river in Book Two:
"The Anyder rises in a small spring eighty miles above Amaurot, but other streams flow into it, two of them quite large, so that by the time it passes the city it is half a mile across."
Why does More choose to assign all important Utopian landmarks and cities—including the country itself—oxymoronic names? Because, it seems, he wants to hint at the potentially unrealizable nature of a perfect place like Utopia. The oxymoronic names create a broader paradox at the heart of Utopia: can reality coexist with fiction? Can these ideals coexist with reality? While More, both through his character and the character of Raphael, seems to extol the virtues of Utopian society, this very same place is a linguistic anomaly. Such a great society, it seems, cannot exist. Utopia remains paradoxical, and though More sees many of its technological and social customs as helpful or even aspirational, the paradoxes point to a more complex story.
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