Piers Plowman : an introduction / James Simpson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Simpson, James, 1954-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Langland, William, 1330?-1400? Piers Plowman.

Langland, William.

Christian poetry, English (Middle)--Criticism, Textual.

Christian poetry, English (Middle).

Justice in literature.

Mercy in literature.

Criticism, Textual.

Physical Description:

vi, 248 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

Second, revised edition.

Place of Publication:

Exeter : University of Exeter Press, 2007.

Summary:

New to the internationally renowned Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies series, James Simpson's indispensable guide to Piers Plowman has been fully revised for this reissue. As any teacher of the poem knows, teaching Piers Plowman is massively facilitated by a reliable introductory guide providing both information and interpretation. This book does just that. Its main aim is to demonstrate to undergraduate readers the centrality of Piers Plowman in any account of the literary and cultural history of the later English Middle Ages. Piers Plowman's principal project is the re-imagination of a vernacular Church; the text questions the culture within which it is anchored and moves towards an active re-imagination of social and religious institutions. Simpson's book demonstrates how the poem's historical significance is embedded in its formal choices.

Contents:

Approaching Piers Plowman 1

The poem and its author 2

Langland's immediate poetic context 6

'Discourse' 14

Schematic structure of the poem 15

1 The First Vision: Prologue and Passus I 16

Literary 'truthe' 17

Theological 'truthe' 24

Social 'truthe' 29

2 The First Vision: Passus II-IV 36

Personification allegory 37

Mede and social 'truthe' 45

Mede and legal 'truthe' 48

3 The Second Vision: Passus V-VII 55

Ecclesiastical satire 58

Theological themes: the reward of works-a wage or a gift? 68

Conclusion-the crisis of justice 77

4 The Third Vision: Passus VIII-XII 81

Structure as determined by psychology 85

Style 96

Theme 98

The inner-dream (XI. 5-402): Fortune, Lewtee, Imaginatif 120

5 The Fourth Vision: Passus XIII-XIV 124

Educational transitions 126

Poetic transitions 134

Social transitions 143

6 The Vision: Passus XV-XVII 148

Anima-the whole soul 152

Anima and the Church 155

Anima and charity 162

7 Visions Six, Seven and Eight: Passus XVIII-XX 180

The sixth vision: Passus XVIII 184

The seventh vision: Passus XIX 191

The eighth vision: Passus XX 203.

ISBN:

9780859898034

9780859898027

0859898024

0859898032

OCLC:

156832069