Leviathan

Leviathan

by

Thomas Hobbes

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Leviathan makes teaching easy.

Francis Godolphin Character Analysis

Francis Godolphin is the dedicatee of Leviathan. He was a royalist and a Member of Parliament. He was also the brother of Sidney Godolphin, Hobbes’s personal friend, who died fighting the parliamentarians during the English Civil War in 1643. It is because of Hobbes’s respect and admiration for Sidney that he dedicates Leviathan to Francis.
Get the entire Leviathan LitChart as a printable PDF.
Leviathan PDF

Francis Godolphin Character Timeline in Leviathan

The timeline below shows where the character Francis Godolphin appears in Leviathan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Epistle Dedicatory: To My Most Honor’d Friend Mr. Francis Godolphin of Godolphin
Nature, War, and Civil Society   Theme Icon
Power, Common-wealths, and Monarchies Theme Icon
Hobbes dedicates Leviathan to Francis Godolphin and begins by mentioning Godolphin’s late brother, Mr. Sidney Godolphin, whom Hobbes held in high... (full context)
Nature, War, and Civil Society   Theme Icon
Power, Common-wealths, and Monarchies Theme Icon
Religion Theme Icon
...of specific people, but of the “Seat of Power” in an abstract way. Still, if Francis Godolphin finds that he disagrees with the ideas expressed in the following pages, he is free... (full context)