Reading 'Piers Plowman' is an indispensable scholarly guide to a magnificent – and notoriously difficult – medieval poem. With 'Piers Plowman', the fourteenth-century poet William Langland proved that English verse could be at once spiritually electrifying and intellectually rigorous, capable of imagining society in its totality while at the same time exploring heady ideas about language, theology and culture. In her study of 'Piers Plowman', Emily Steiner explores how Langland's ambitious poetics emerged in dialogue with contemporary ideas; for example, about political counsel and gender, the ethics of poverty, Christian and pagan learning, lordship and servitude, and the long history of Christianity. Lucid and comprehensive, Steiner's study teaches us to stay alert to the poem's stunning effects while still making sense of its literary and historical contexts.
• An appealing and useful book for readers of all levels, following the order of the original poem • Offers innovative readings, grounded in the latest scholarship • Shows readers how to navigate Langland's difficult poetics and how to engage with his complex ideas about politics, piety and social reform
Contents
1. Introduction; 2. Value; 3. Community; 4. Learning; 5. Practice; 6. Belief; 7. Institutions.
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