History Creator / WilliamMorris

A prolific poet and prose author, his best known written work is ''Literature/NewsFromNowhere'' (1890), a {{utopia}}n novel depicting the idyllic agrarian society he hoped would be created following a socialist revolution. His pseudo-medieval {{fantas|y}}ies, such as ''Literature/TheWoodBeyondTheWorld'' (1894), ''Literature/TheWaterOfTheWondrousIsles'' (1895), and ''The Well at the World’s End'' (1896) were a key influence on both Creator/JRRTolkien and Creator/CSLewis.

A prolific poet and prose author, his best known written work is ''News from Nowhere'' (1890), a {{utopia}}n novel depicting the idyllic agrarian society he hoped would be created following a socialist revolution. His pseudo-medieval {{fantas|y}}ies, such as ''The Wood Beyond the World'' (1894), ''The Water of the Wondrous Isles'' (1895), and ''The Well at the World’s End'' (1896) were a key influence on both Creator/JRRTolkien and Creator/CSLewis.

* TimeTravel: ''The Dream of John Ball'' involves time travel to the peasant’s revolt of 1381.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: A lot of his heroines are examples of this.

* {{Arcadia}}: Often feature in his medievalist romances.

* TheHerosJourney: The plot of ''The Wood Beyond the World''.

* TheLostWoods: The ''Wood Beyond the World'', of course.

* Myth/ArthurianLegend: His early poems, especially "The Defence of Guenevere."

William Morris (1834-1896) was an English designer, artist, writer and socialist.

He is perhaps best known today for his design work: he was a major contributor the revival of traditional textile arts and a major influence on the Arts and Crafts movement.

!! Tropes found in the works of William Morris:

* AllJustADream: Ambiguously in ''News from Nowhere.''
* AlliterativeTitle: ''News from Nowhere.'' ''The Wood Beyond the World.'' ''The Well at the World's End.'' ''The Water of the Wondrous Isles.''

* {{Arcadia}}: In ''News from Nowhere'', this is his vision of a future following a socialist revolution. Often feature in his medievalist romances too.

* AuthorAvatar: The narrator of ''News from Nowhere'' is clearly this.
* AuthorTract: ''News from Nowhere'' is really just a means for Morris to describe his vision of a socialist utopia.

* EarthyBarefootCharacter: Many of Morris's heroines, such as Ellen in ''News from Nowhere.''
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: The narrator of ''News from Nowhere''.

* SolarPunk: ''News from Nowhere''. A utopian novel from the late 19th century in which an author-insert character named William Guest travels to the year 2002 to find Britain transformed into a decentralised, egalitarian, and ecological paradise where the government has been turned into a dung market, people administer their communities through participatory democracy, war and poverty are distant memories, and even money no longer exists.
* TakeThat: ''News from Nowhere'' was written as a riposte to Edward Bellamy's ''Literature/LookingBackward'', a similarly structured AuthorTract about a possible socialist future, but one which Morris hated for its utilitarian drabness.
* TimeTravel: The framing device used in ''News from Nowhere'', as the narrator falls asleep and wakes up in a utopian socialist future. ''The Dream of John Ball'' involves time travel to the peasant’s revolt of 1381.

* EarthlyBarefootCharacter: Many of Morris's heroines, such as Ellen in ''News from Nowhere.''

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Many of Morris's heroines, such as Ellen in ''News from Nowhere.''

* TakeThat: ''News from Nowhere'' was written as a riposte to Edward Bellamy's ''LookingBackward'', a similarly structured AuthorTract about a possible socialist future, but one which Morris hated for its utilitarian drabness.

A prolific poet and prose author, his best known written work is ''News from Nowhere'' (1890), a {{utopia}}n novel depicting the idyllic agrarian society he hoped would be created following a socialist revolution. His pseudo-medieval {{fantas|y}}ies, such as ''The Wood Beyond the World'' (1894) and ''The Well at the World’s End'' (1896) were a key influence on both Creator/JRRTolkien and Creator/CSLewis.

A prolific poet and prose author, his best know written work is ''News from Nowhere'' (1890), a {{utopia}}n novel depicting the idyllic agrarian society he hoped would be created following a socialist revolution. His pseudo-medieval {{fantas|y}}ies, such as ''The Wood Beyond the World'' (1894) and ''The Well at the World’s End'' (1896) were a key influence on both Creator/JRRTolkien and Creator/CSLewis.

* TheDungAges: Averted hard. Morris adored the Middle Ages, or rather a romanticised version, which he contrasted with the dirty, ugly cities of Victorian England.

* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: Morris was fond of using pseudo-medieval English, which can make some of his works a little difficult for modern readers.

* FishOutofTemporalWater: The narrator of ''News from Nowhere''.

William Morris (1834-1896) was an English designer, artist, writer and socialist.

He is perhaps best known today for his design work: he was a major contributor the revival of traditional textile arts and a major influence on the Arts and Crafts movement.

A prolific poet and prose author, his best know written work is ''News from Nowhere'' (1890), a {{utopia}}n novel depicting the idyllic agrarian society he hoped would be created following a socialist revolution. His pseudo-medieval {{fantas|y}}ies, such as ''The Wood Beyond the World'' (1894) and ''The Well at the World’s End'' (1896) were a key influence on both Creator/JRRTolkien and CSLewis.

Oh, and he also set up a printing press, translated several [[Literature/TheIcelandicSagas Icelandic sagas]] and founded the movement to protect historic buildings in Britain.

* WorldBuilding: As noted above, his medieval romances were a model for both JRRTolkien and CSLewis.