Heavens on earth : a study of the development of the utopian genre in English literature from the sixteenth to the twentieth century

Abstract

This thesis is an attempt to trace the development of the utopian genre in English literature. The underlying point of reference is the consideration of this genre as a reflection of the changing idea of progress from the sixteenth century until the mid-twentieth century. Contained within this concept is the conviction that theories and ideas do not emerge from a vacuum; they have a social origin. So it is that the idea of progress has its base in concrete movements within society. As these movements develop, the idea of progress change accordingly, and the development can often be marked in the fictional projections of these idea, the utopias.