Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Piers Plowman, written by William Langland in the late 14th century, is one of the most important works of Middle English literature. Composed in alliterative verse, the poem is a dream-vision allegory that blends social criticism, theological inquiry, and spiritual quest. Langland, likely a minor cleric, revised the text multiple times, resulting in three main versions: the shorter A-text (c. 1360–70), the more elaborate B-text (c. 1377–79), and the revised C-text (c. 1385–90). In ‘step’ XV, line 152 of Piers Plowman: “‘I have lived in land,’ said I, ‘my name is Long Will,’” the narrator subtly names himself as William Langland.
The poem follows the narrator, Will, as he embarks on a series of dreams that expose the corruption of society and the Church while exploring the path to Christian salvation. Through allegorical figures like Piers Plowman—a humble farmer who represents virtuous labor—Langland critiques greed, clerical abuses, and societal injustice, making the work a powerful reflection of late medieval England.
The poem grapples with profound spiritual and social concerns. A central theme is the pursuit of a righteous life, framed as a quest for Do-well, Do-better, and Do-best—three stages of moral and religious improvement. Langland sharply criticizes the greed and hypocrisy of both secular and religious authorities, contrasting them with the idealized simplicity of figures like Piers, who embodies honest labor and devotion. Another key theme is the tension between material wealth and spiritual purity, as the poem questions whether true salvation is possible in a corrupt world. Apocalyptic undertones suggest the need for radical reform, while allegorical debates explore the nature of truth, grace, and divine justice.
Structure of Piers Plowman:
Piers Plowman is structured as a series of dream-visions, a common medieval literary device. The poem is written in unrhymed alliterative verse, a traditional English form that emphasizes rhythmic and sonic patterns. The narrative is divided into passus (Latin for "steps" or sections), with the B-text—the most widely studied version—containing a prologue and 20 passus. The first part, the Visio (Prologue–Passus 7), introduces the "Field of Folk," a microcosm of society, and follows Piers as he guides people toward Truth. The second part, the Vita (Passus 8–20), delves into deeper theological questions, exploring the three stages of moral living through extended allegorical encounters.
The B-text consists of eight major visions, with two additional dreams within dreams, each unfolding within Will’s dreams. The first vision (Prologue–Passus 4) surveys a corrupt society and introduces Piers Plowman as a moral guide. The second vision continues the Visio till Passus 7. Subsequent visions explore abstract concepts through allegorical figures, such as the personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins or the debates between characters like Thought, Wit, and Study. The later passus become increasingly complex, blending biblical references, mystical experiences, and calls for reform. The final visions culminate in a dramatic confrontation between the forces of evil and the Church, leaving the reader with a sense of urgency for spiritual renewal. Summary of Piers Plowman
Prologue to Step 4:
Piers Plowman begins with Will, a wandering hermit, falling asleep on the Malvern Hills and entering a vivid dream. He sees a "field full of folk" teeming with people from all classes—peasants, clergy, and knights—positioned between a lofty castle and a foreboding dungeon, symbolizing heaven and hell. Society takes shape before his eyes as a king is chosen and social orders are established.
Suddenly, the scene shifts to a parliament of rats complaining about a cruel cat that terrorizes them. One proposes belling the cat to warn of its approach, but none dare take the risk. A wise mouse intervenes, arguing that even if they killed the cat, another would replace it, and the rats lack the wisdom to govern themselves. The fable dissolves, returning Will to the field.
There, he meets Holy Church, a radiant woman who teaches him about Truth (God) and warns against sin. Eager for salvation, Will asks how to recognize evil. She directs his gaze to a wedding being prepared for Meed (Material Reward), a woman adorned in opulent finery. Meed was meant to marry Truth, but instead chooses False, aided by corrupt allies—Greed, Simony, Liar, and others. Theology interrupts, insisting that the marriage be judged by the king and his knight Conscience in London.
At court, False flees, abandoning Meed. The King, aware of her deceit, offers her to Conscience as a bride. Conscience refuses, condemning her as the root of corruption. When the King pressures him, Conscience declares he will only obey if Reason approves. The King summons Reason, but first must settle a case between Peace and Wrong. Wrong’s lawyers, Wisdom and Wit, attempt bribery, but the King, guided by Reason and Conscience, sees through it. Meed tries to sway Peace with money, further provoking the King’s wrath. As he moves to punish Wrong, Will abruptly awakens.
Steps 5-10
After briefly awakening, Will dreams again (Vision 2). This time, Reason addresses the "field full of folk," urging repentance. One by one, the Seven Deadly Sins confess: Pride, Lechery, Envy, Wrath, Covetousness, Gluttony, and Sloth. Moved by Repentance's prayer, the crowd resolves to seek Truth but cannot find the way. A pilgrim claims ignorance, but Piers Plowman, a humble farmer, steps forward, declaring himself Truth’s servant.
Piers offers directions to Truth, but the path is arduous. He insists on plowing his half-acre first, assigning tasks by social rank. Initially efficient, some slackers fake illness to avoid work. Piers summons Hunger, who forces them to labor. When Hunger leaves, laziness returns. Truth sends Piers a pardon, promising mercy to workers and exemptions for the truly unable. A priest translates it, only to find two Latin lines—hardly a full pardon. Enraged, Piers tears it, arguing salvation comes not from empty pardons but from doing well and God’s mercy. Will wakes, pondering penance versus virtuous living.
Will roams, questioning how to Do-Well. He meets two friars who boast of housing Do-Well in their convent, but their pride reveals their hypocrisy. Will resumes his search and dreams once more (Vision 3). He meets Thought, who explains three ideals: Do-Well: Honest labor, avoiding sin, Do-Better: Active charity, and Do-Best: Righteous rebuke of sinners.
Still confused, Will consults Wit, who allegorizes the soul as Anima, guarded by Sir Inwit (Mind) and the five senses. Wit’s wife, Study, distrusts Will’s motives but sends him to the Clergy and Scripture for clearer answers.
Steps 11-17
As Will listens to the Clergy and Scripture's explanations of moral living, he slips into a deeper dream state (dream-within-a-dream) where he encounters Fortune and her two handmaidens. These alluring figures tempt him into years of hedonistic pleasure-seeking, only to abandon him in old age and poverty. In this vulnerable state, he meets the spirit of Trajan, the righteous pagan emperor whose virtuous life earned him salvation despite lacking Christian baptism. Trajan's testimony reveals Langland's radical theology—that true morality transcends religious labels and that divine grace can operate beyond institutional sacraments.
Awakening from this vision, Will briefly converses with Imaginative about Trajan's unusual salvation before the mysterious figure vanishes. This encounter leaves Will profoundly unsettled, and he spends years wandering as a hermit, grappling with these spiritual paradoxes. His contemplative life leads to another revelatory dream (Vision 4) - a banquet that starkly contrasts true and false religion. At the head table, the Master of Divinity gorges himself on rich delicacies while espousing hollow doctrines, embodying clerical corruption. Meanwhile, Will and Patience sit at a humble side table, their meager fare symbolizing the simplicity of genuine faith. When Patience advocates for radical Christian love - even for enemies - the Master angrily dismisses him, prompting Conscience to renounce institutional religion entirely and embark on a pilgrimage with Patience.
Their spiritual journey leads to an encounter with Hawkin, whose perpetually stained coat serves as a powerful allegory for humanity's sinful nature. No matter how often he washes it, new stains of sin appear. Patience offers a fourfold solution: contrition to loosen sin's grip, Do-Well's good works for cleansing, Do-Better's active charity for scrubbing, and Do-Best's righteous living to maintain purity. Hawkin's tearful repentance contrasts sharply with the unrepentant gluttony of the Master of Divinity, demonstrating Langland's emphasis on authentic conversion over empty ritual.
Will's intense dream life earns him a reputation as a madman, yet his apparent madness reveals deeper spiritual sanity. When Reason grants him another vision (Vision 5), he meets Anima (the Soul), who presents society as a diseased tree with corrupt priestly roots poisoning the entire organism. Anima describes Charity - true selfless love - as the rare fruit of this ailing tree, cultivated by Piers Plowman. At Piers' name, Will swoons into his most profound vision yet.
In this climactic dream-within-a-dream, Piers appears as a spiritual warrior defending the Tree of Patience against Covetousness, the Flesh, and the Devil. The vision transforms into a panoramic view of salvation history, with Mary announcing Christ's decisive battle against evil. Will witnesses the entire Passion narrative unfold - the Last Supper's intimacy, Judas's betrayal in Gethsemane's shadows, and finally the cosmic drama of the Crucifixion, where divine love triumphs over sin and death.
Emerging from this vision, Will finds himself on the road to Jerusalem with biblical personifications of Faith (Abraham) and Hope (Moses). Their encounter with a wounded traveler, representing suffering humanity, becomes the poem's most powerful demonstration of true religion. While Faith and Hope prove inadequate before the man's desperate need, the Good Samaritan (Charity) embodies Christ-like compassion through practical action. His care for the wounded man, including payment for his continued care at the inn (representing the Church), demonstrates that true religion consists not in doctrine alone but in loving action.
The Samaritan explains that neither religious tradition (Faith) nor divine promise (Hope) can ultimately save wounded humanity - only Christ-like Charity, manifested in self-giving love, can heal what is broken. This revelation synthesizes Will's entire spiritual journey, showing how abstract theological concepts find their fulfillment in concrete acts of love. As the dream dissolves, Will awakens with a transformed understanding of Christian life, one that values authentic compassion over institutional power, radical love over empty ritual, and personal conversion over superficial observance.
Steps 18-20
On Palm Sunday, during his solitary wanderings, Will dreams (Vision 6) of Christ's humble entry into Jerusalem - barefoot on a donkey's back, acclaimed by joyful crowds. With startling clarity, Will recognizes in Jesus' face the familiar features of both the Good Samaritan and Piers Plowman, suggesting the unity of divine love, human compassion, and righteous labor. As Faith explains, this is the moment when Christ prepares for his cosmic battle against evil. Suddenly, the scene darkens as the crowd's hosannas turn to cries of "Crucify him!" Will witnesses the Passion unfold in all its terrible majesty - the nails piercing flesh, the final breath on the cross, before following Christ's descent into Hell.
In the underworld, Will observes a profound theological debate personified as four sisters: Mercy and Peace rejoice at redemption's promise, while Righteousness and Truth maintain Hell's permanence. Their argument is interrupted by Christ's triumphant breaking of Hell's gates, where even Lucifer and his demons cannot prevent the liberation of righteous souls. Christ justifies his victory as divine trickery, countering Satan's original deception in Eden. As the reconciled sisters celebrate with heavenly music, Will awakens, transformed by this vision of redemption's cosmic scope.
At Easter Mass, Will's spiritual intensity overwhelms him into another dream (Vision 7). Now he sees Piers Plowman drenched in blood, bearing Christ's cross - a shocking fusion of the humble plowman with the suffering Savior. Conscience explains this mysterious identification: Christ has clothed himself in Piers' humanity while granting Piers a share in divine authority. The vision expands as Grace equips Piers with agricultural tools representing spiritual gifts: four seeds (the Gospels), oxen (the Evangelists), and harrows (Old and New Testaments) to cultivate souls worldwide. Grace commands the building of Unity - the Church - as a refuge against coming storms.
No sooner is Unity established than Pride launches his assault. Conscience rallies the faithful inside, though some stubbornly remain outside. This conflict prefigures Will's final, most disturbing dream (Vision 8). Will meets Need, who argues that bodily need is more important than the Cardinal Virtues, as long as Temperance is respected. Will sleeps again and sees Antichrist's full-scale attack on Unity. As Death, Old Age, and disease ravage humanity (striking Will himself with debilitating infirmities), Kind (Nature) advises taking shelter in Unity through genuine love. Yet even this sanctuary proves vulnerable when Hypocrisy infiltrates its defenses.
The community's desperate search for healing reveals the poem's sharpest critique of contemporary religion. When the true physician (representing rigorous penance) proves unpopular, they foolishly summon Friar Flatterer, who administers spiritual sedatives in exchange for silver. His drugged potion - empty absolution without repentance - paralyzes Contrition and leaves the community morally numb. In this devastating portrait of ecclesiastical corruption, Langland shows how the Church's therapeutic mission has been compromised by greed and comfort.
As the dream dissolves, Conscience makes his final pilgrimage resolution - to seek Piers Plowman as the only true remedy for the Church's sickness. This open-ended conclusion suggests Langland's radical hope: that beyond institutional failure, Christ's authentic presence remains accessible to those willing to pursue it. Will awakens with the poem's essential challenge - to maintain faith in grace while confronting the Church's all-too-human failings.
Conclusion:
William Langland’s Piers Plowman is a profound meditation on spiritual and social renewal in late medieval England. Through Will’s visionary quest, the poem explores timeless themes—corruption and reform, divine grace and human frailty, the tension between institutional religion and personal faith. The allegorical journey culminates in a powerful vision of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice and the ongoing struggle of the Church, embodied in the besieged Unity. Yet Langland offers no easy resolution. The poem ends with Conscience setting out to find Piers Plowman once more, suggesting that the pursuit of truth and justice is perpetual, and that salvation lies not in complacency but in active love, repentance, and humility.
Langland’s masterpiece remains strikingly relevant, challenging readers to examine their own moral and spiritual lives. Its critique of greed, hypocrisy, and empty ritual resonates across centuries, while its vision of Christ as both divine savior and humble laborer—united with Piers—affirms the sacredness of ordinary work and compassion. Ultimately, Piers Plowman is a call to Do-Well, Do-Better, and Do-Best: to live justly, love relentlessly, and hold fast to hope, even in a fractured world. The poem’s unfinished ending invites each generation to continue the pilgrimage toward a truer, more merciful society.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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