Summative Assessment: The Tempest
“There are always flies in utopia”:
A comparison of Thomas More’s Utopia to Gonzolo’s speech in the Tempest
G oal
To write a two part monograph: 1) comparing Gonzolo’s
speech in the Tempest to a passage from Thomas More’s
Utopia (300-400 words). 2) Defending which vision of
utopia seems most attractive and livable today (500
words). Your essay should take into consideration the
following questions:
1) Would you like to live in the utopia your chosen
author describes?
2) Do you think such a society is possible?
3) Do you think that the Utopian practices
recommended are a serious alternative to existing
practices?
4) Which practices would be an improvement over
existing practices? Why?
5) Which practices would not work? Why?
R ole
You are a scholar presenting a paper concerning your
research at a conference on “literary works that influenced
Shakespeare.”
Your audience is a panel of Shakespeare scholars who are
interested in your research and opinion on the connection
between More’s work and The Tempest.
You have been doing research at the Newberry library in
Chicago on influences on Shakespeare and have come
across a manuscript of Thomas More’s Utopia.
A udience
S ituation
https://dcc.newberry.org/collections/shakespeare-tempest-utopiaseuropean-renaissance
P urpose
S tandards
As you read the indicated passage, you experience déjà vu.
Surely you have read these words before. Suddenly you
recall Gonzolo’s speech in Act II of the Tempest. Did
Shakespeare take Gonzolo’s words from More’s Utopia?
You must do a close comparison of the two texts and
decide for yourself and also persuade the academic panel
whether or not Gonzolo’s speech is an allusion and why the
discovery (that it is or it isn’t) is important.
To evaluate the relationship of More’s text to
Shakespeare’s text and convince a panel that your insights
are a breakthrough in understanding the work of the Bard
(i.e. Shakespeare).
A: Analysing evaluate similarities and differences by connecting features across and
within genres and texts
B: Organizing use referencing and formatting tools to create a presentation style
suitable to the context and intention
C: Producing text produce texts that demonstrate insight, imagination and sensitivity
while exploring and reflecting critically on new perspectives and ideas arising from
personal engagement with the creative process
D: Using language write and speak in a register and style that serve the context and
intention