Gonzalo's Speech--I' the commonwealth I would by contraries

Act II.i.150
GONZALO
I' the commonwealth I would by contraries
Execute all things; for no kind of traffic
Would I admit; no name of magistrate;
Letters should not be known; riches, poverty,
And use of service, none; contract, succession,
Bourn, bound of land, tilth, vineyard, none;
No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil;
No occupation; all men idle, all;
And women too, but innocent and pure;
No sovereignty;--

Little explained in class that in order to have a utopia one must have another person to keep that vision clear in order to reach that desired place. LIttle also said that to the key word is no. If utopia is supposed to be a sublime paradise then why is is so policed? Utopia in the play so heavily regulated and oppressive. Prospero's utopia is his own hell and therefore like Adam and Eve, he too loses paradise. What is interesting about Gonzalo's speech is that he ripped it off someone else. Shakespeare plagiarized from and essay called Michael Montaigne “of the Cannibals” translated into English in 1603 John Florio.

Ian Hoch
Alma Solis 1B
12/04/2008