Lesson
Thomas More
lawyer, judge and social philosopher
Key words:
active-minded– енергійний;
keep a keen eye on– пильно стежити;
obey – підкорятися;
behead – обезголовити, стратити;
traitor - зрадник;
non-existent - неіснуючий;
profound - глибокий, змістовний;
be elected - бути обраним;
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byword - прислів'я; to learn new words
unattainable - недосяжний.
Starting point:
What do you know about the Renaissance in
Personal details England?
Do you know who ruled in England in this period?
Born
7 February 1478 City of London,
England Sir Thomas More was born in London
Died and educated at Oxford. He was the first
6 July 1535 (aged 57) Tower Hill,
English humanist of the Renaissance. He could
London, England
write Latin very well. He began life as a lawyer.
Nationality
He was an active-minded man and kept a
English
keen eye on the events of his time. Soon he
became the first great writer on social and
Profession political subjects in English. The English
lawyer, judge, social philosopher, writings of Thomas More include discussions
author, statesman and noted
Renaissance humanist
on political subjects, biographies and poetry.
Thomas More was a Catholic, but fought
Signature
against the Pope and the king’s absolute
power. The priests hated him because of his
poetry and discussions on political subjects.
Thomas More refused to obey the king as the
head of the English Church, therefore he was
thrown into the Tower of London in
1534 and beheaded as a traitor.
The Tower of London, 1647
The work by wich Thomas More is best remembered today is
Utopia which was written in Latin in the year 1516. It has been
translated into all European languages.
Utopia (which in Greek means “nowhere”) is the name of a
non-existent island. This work is devided into two books.
In the first, the author gives a profound and truthful picture
of the people’s sufferings and points out the social evils
existing in England at that time. In the second book Thomas
More presents his ideal of what future society should be like. It
is an ideal republic. Its government is elected. Everybody
works. All schooling is free. Man must be healthy and wise, but
not rich. Utopia describes a social system built on communist
principles. The wordd “utopia” has become a byword and is
used in modern English to denote an unattainable ideal,
usually in social and political matters.
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more about The Renaissance in England
III
Henry V
English Renaissance
Answer the following questions:
Who was the first English humanist of the Renaissance?
HOMEWORK
When did Thomas More live?
What kind of man was he?
What did the English writings of Thomas More include?
What was More’s idea of what future society should be like?
What did Thomas More fight against?
Why was More thrown into the Tower of London and beheaded?
