William Langland

by William M. Ryan

I made the first step toward this study of William Langland's fourteenth-century poem 'Piers Plowman (The Vision of William Concerning Piers Plowman) in 1958. Keeping in mind the student and the general reader, I have sought the man Langland, a poet of whom there is much to be said, and I have highlighted the features which I believe to be of most use to the beginner. This book is, therefore, more literal than might be expected by experienced students of medieval poetry, it is weighted with the solid stuff of characterization, word-play, metrics, social satire, and such specifics as the Seven Deadly Sins. - from the author's preface.