Book Condition: Near Fine. A detailed overview of the B version, which is the most frequently encountered form of the poem. Summarizes the range of critical opinion on key issues and includes comparisons to similar material found in the contemporary Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer. Simpson’s masterful introduction is the current go-to book. Commentary is arranged according to the order of visions within the poem. Each chapter summarizes the events in that section followed by an introduction and discussion of topics important to that section. Topics range widely: estates satire, dream vision, personification allegory, ecclesiastical satire, and so forth. At the same time Simpson focuses on a theme that he believes central to the poem: the relationship between justice and mercy in the scheme of salvation. The main aim of this book is to convince the reader of Piers Plowman's centrality in any account of the literary and cultural history of the later Middle Ages. It tries to demonstrate how the poem, despite being deeply anchored in a conservative literary, ecclesiastical and social culture, in fact questions that culture in moving towards positions of doubt and dissent, and in reimagining social and religious institutions. The author argues that Langland consistently develops one theme throughout the poem, that of the relations between justice and mercy. In following this theme, certain psychological, institutional, and literary changes become necessary: broadly speaking, the poem moves away from rational to an affective approach to problems; from a hierarchical to a more horizontal sense of ecclesiastical and social institutions; and from authoritarian, "closed" literary forms to more exploratory and open ended procedures. Simpson takes into account Langland's theology, his idea of the Church as an institution and in a broad sense, his politics. He also tries to show how ecclesiastical and political attachments are written into the formal choices Langland makes. Throughout the poem he considers such questions as what genre is being practised here?, what claims to authority does such a genre make?, what aspect of the self does it appeal to?, what social or ecclesiastical institution is it produced by and does it support? and finally, in what ways are authoritative genres found by Langland to be inadequate. The author aims to address the argument to r eaders who might have no previous experience of medieval culture; a secondary function of the book is therefore to provide brief expositions of any relevant backgrounds which need to be understood before an understanding of Langland's enterprise is possible. The narrator, generally referred to as Will and presented as the author of the poem, wanders the world dressed as a hermit, until one May morning, near Malvern Hills, he falls asleep and dreams. In the vision, he sees a field full of folk of all social classes, including beggars, members of religious orders, knights, kings, and plowmen, going about the various activities of life, with a tower at one end and a dungeon located in a hollow beneath. At this point, a group of mice and rats assemble to determine what action to take against a cat at court who has been terrorizing them for some time. They agree that the best plan will be to put a bell around the cat’s neck, but then they realize they do not have the courage to attempt it. One sensible mouse suggests that they are better off with the cat than with a different cat or on their own. A woman named Holy Church explains to Will that the castle is the home of Truth, or God, and that the dungeon is the home of Wrong, or Satan. She advises Will that to save his soul he needs to follow Truth. The poet then witnesses the making of arrangements to marry Lady Mede (Reward) to False; dispute over the marriage is eventually brought to London to be adjudicated before the king. The king proposes instead that she marry Conscience, who refuses the marriage, precipitating a series of debates on the nature of meed, or reward. The vision ends hopefully, with the king resolving to rule with the help of Reason and Conscience. In a second dream vision, the poet hears a sermon calling for the repentance of society delivered to the field of folk by Reason, followed by the public confessions of representatives of each of the seven deadly sins. Society decides to search for Truth, and the farmer Piers Plowman, a long time follower of Truth, offers to show the people the way if they will help him plow his half-acre field. The attempt at plowing together eventually fails, despite the efforts of Hunger to help Piers motivate the workers. Before they leave to seek Truth, Piers is offered a pardon by Truth, telling him only to “Do-Well.” Piers then tears the pardon to pieces, vowing to seek Truth himself. After waking, the dreamer spends a long time pondering the meaning of this vision and again becomes a wanderer.
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