The Convergence of Text and Context, Real World and Alternative World, in Machiavelli's The Prince and More's Utopia.
This paper will examine the convergence of text and context in the lives and work of Machiavelli and Thomas More. It will be argued that the textual strategies of both works established a dynamic tension between the real world (context) and the alternative world (text). Much of the power and appeal of both works, it will be shown, lies in how they balanced the competing demands of both worlds and narrative forms to represent a new manner of envisioning reality that would capture the imaginations of their age. 5 pgs. 5 f/c. 4b.