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Piers the Ploughman (Penguin Classics)

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Langland's masterpiece, "Piers Plowman", is Middle English poetry that uses language that is more opaque that that of Chaucer, while expression ideas that are at the same time less translucent than Chaucer's. Whereas Chaucer writes to entertain and incidentally edify, Langland's writing aims squarely at the reform of society: his poetic genius is ever bent on conveying his message in the most effective ways it can devise. That those ways are diverse, and that the poem entwines itself around the reader's mind with a fine webbing of delicate strands, makes a first acquaintance with this work for the student of Middle English a potent, provocative, but somewhat overpowering experience. Help is needed. Goodridge's translation into modern English beautifully renders the sense of the poem in a direct and lyrical way. This may be contrasted with most verse translations that tend to be glosses rather than translations. Consider one fragment from the prologue: "Ac of the cardinales atte courte that caught of that name / And power presumed in hem a pope to make, / To han that power that Peter hadde inpugnen I nelle: / For in loue and letterure the eleccioun bilongeth -- / Forthi I can and can naught of courte speke more." What are we to make of "can and can naught"? A verse translation by Donaldson renders this as follows: "But as for the cardinals at court that thus acquired their name / And presumed they had power to appoint a pope / Who should have the power that Peter had -- well I'll not impugn them. / For the election belongs to love and to learning: / Therefore I can and cannot speak of court further." No doubt this has merit as poetry, but of what value is it as a translation? Any student could replace the Middle English words with the modern equivalent, and be no better off in understanding the sense of the piece. Consider, on the other hand, Goodridge's prose translation: "But as to those other cardinals at Rome who have assumed the same name, taking upon themselves the appointment of a Pope to posses the power of St. Peter, I will not call them in question. The election of a pope requires both love and learning. There is much more I could say about the Papal Court, but it is not for me to say it." While one may disagree with Goodridge's interpretations, one is never in doubt as to what they are. His prose is perfectly lucid, and often poetic. This is a wonderful introduction to Piers Plowman, and the notes and commentary that accompany the translation further enhance the value of this book, and serve even more as a key to unlocking the gates to this magical poem.

The poem of 'Piers the Ploughman' is often considered to be anonymously composed, as the name William Langland was less an authorial designation as it was an inscription on the back of a manuscript - it would be as if I would be assigned the authorship of the O.E.D. because, in some future time, the only remaining copy was missing the title pages, but still had the hard-cover with my 'ex libris' impression on it. Be that as it may, Langland is considered at least as likely an author as any other, and becomes a sort of stand-in, an 'everyman' for his time period. A few details of this Langland are known - he was a wanderer, a constant reviser (the poem goes through several revisions that scholars have designated as texts A, B, and C (and some argue for Z). This is not a spiritual autobiography, as J.F. Goodridge states in his introduction, but there are no doubt autobiographical elements in the text. That the lead character is named 'Will' helps in this identification.

This poem stands alongside Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' as one of the great products of Middle English; this also has the character of being a different sort of Middle English than Chaucer's more courtly, continental influenced variety. Thus, it gives breadth to the history of the English language. Goodridge ranks Langland as a great English poet on a par with Spenser, Milton, Wordsworth and Yeats, as representative of his age both in topics as well as language facility.

This epic poem deals with themes familiar for the time - like Dante and Milton, Langland deals with the grand ideas of the meaning of life and the destiny of humankind. However, unlike Dante and Milton, Will and Piers the Ploughman do not go through a mystical, otherworldly adventure or journey, but rather stays rooted to the earth. These are dream sequences, but these too need not be otherworldly - they are things that can happen to every person. The ideas of the seven deadly sins, the virtues, the church, and the images of heaven and hell are very much rooted to regular society images of the same. The discussion of the allegorical characters, aptly named Do-Well, Do-Better, and Do-Best, does much for the moral teaching of this poem, which would have been of primary concern to the author.

Langland's text is often more Old English than Chaucerian in ways. It is far more alliterative, a strong component taken from Old English. Also, it is less metrical in rhythm than Chaucer - there is a pause in each line akin to older English poetry, but the metre is less secure.

There is much to dispute in Goodridge's introductory essay and notes, because this is that kind of text that invites such disputation. There are over 50 non-related texts of the poem that have survived the Middle Ages, that vary from minor to major changes throughout. Reconciling these is rather like attempting to reconcile the gospels of the Bible, and then adding to that task the discovery of other non-canonical gospels. It leads to rich discussion, but less agreement.

Goodridge does a good job at introducing the text and translating the text into a prose style. The one drawback of this is that the sense of the poem is lost. However, as an introduction and student/study version of the epic, it is a good text. The notes are generous and useful.

This is one of the classics of English literature, perhaps the least known among them.

Items were in excellent condition however, they didn't arrive when needed....snail mail was the only option and requests to pay for expedite mail unanswered. Had to buy books at school, now we have two excellent copies :(