Throughout The Period, Prose Fiction Seems Consistently To Have Been Regarded By Its Authors As Well As Its Reader, As The Most Slippery Of Literary Mediums It Masquerades As Anything But Fictions Notes

Throughout the period, prose fiction seems consistently to have been regarded by its authors as well as its reader, as the most slippery of literary mediums; it masquerades as anything but fictions" The work of Sir Thomas More (1478--1535) can seen in many respects, to epitomize this relationship between truth and fiction, most notability in the way that his texts 'masquerade" themselves self consciously as "anything but fiction". In his generically elusive 'Utopia' (1516), his "history" of Richard II and his polemical tract "The Supplication of Souls" More's use of persona, prefatory material and rhetorical address create works of literary that exhibit many of the characteristics of fiction whilst professing to be otherwise. In More's work however there is also the issue of audience underlying his texts. His decision to write in Latin and not publish his works, reveals a further complication in how he wished he work to be perceived and by whom. More was by no means alone in this; the desire for many writers of the period to conceal their views and intentions extended beyond prose; the huge increase in drama which explored contemporary political concerns and the marketplace of patron poetry which presented itself as amorous whilst really serving a financial turn suggests that the period fostered a struggle between form, presentation and the role of the literary writer. More's History of Richard II (1513--18) may have many generic similarities to earlier Historical works and accounts of Richard II such as Dominic Manici and Vergils, yet it is unique in the way that it combined the conventions of historical and biographically writing with those of drama at rhetoric. More's use of direct and indirect speech and the hybrid nature of its genre anticipates the formal artistry used in Utopia. Almost half the text is composed of orations, reported speech and dialogues given the text a dramatic quality absent in other contemporary histories. By focusing on speech and by association of the interpersonal relationships that were crucial to the events themselves, More's "history" is portrayed rather as a result of a complex network of human and social interactions. More uses this ability to dramatize the struggle of power between his characters in his "story" to emphasize the vice and abuse of power and influence within state affairs. He even describes the subject of his text in these terms: "these matters bee kynges games, as it were stage playes, and for the more part played upon scaffolds". Just as his next text, Utopia would frequently assert the unfair plight of the poor and the need for a more equal distribution of wealth, his History similarly positions the poor against the greedy and murderous nobles; "pore men be but lokers on" a drama that as classical tragedy asserted would be of kings and princes. As well as dramatizing the events through dialogue and adding where possible explicitly moral commentary, More confuses again the genre of 'history' and 'fiction' through is use of rhetoric in a further attempt to embellish the historical account and add a didactic and moralistic tone to his prose. For example in his account of Richard being shown the "maner of the murther" of the princes, finished with an ironical statement that the king allowed "the burying in so vile a corner" because he would not have them buried in a better place just because they were princes, not only cements his characterization of Richard as a monstrous and evil hunchback but also the King's disregard for royal blood whilst asserting his own powerfulness. More 

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