Page images
PDF
EPUB

king himself, of the Seven Deadly Sins, and of Piers the Plowman. Such was the first draught of his poem, to which a sort of appendix was shortly added, with the title of Do-Well, Do-bet [i.e. Dobetter], and Do-best.

It would appear that he had already some acquaintance with London life; and, soon after the writing of the first draught of the poem, he seems to have resided there permanently, taking up his abode in Cornhill, where he lived with his wife Kitte and his daughter Calote, for many long years. About A.D. 1377 he undertook the task of revising his poem; it ended in his completely rewriting it, at the same time expanding it to so great an extent that it grew to three times its former length. Incidentally, he describes himself as a tall man, going by the nickname of Long Will; one loath to reverence lords or ladies, or persons dressed in fur and wearing silver ornaments, and not deigning to say 'God save you' to the serjeants whom he met. It requires no great stretch of the imagination to picture to ourselves the tall gaunt figure of Long Will, in long robes and with shaven crown, striding along Cornhill, saluting no man by the way, and minutely observant of the gay dresses to which he paid no outward reverence. It further appears that he was thoroughly versed in legal forms, and conversant with the writing out of legal documents; such knowledge enabled him to earn small sums as a notary, and he was frequent in his attendance at Westminster Hall.

Towards the year 1393, or even a little earlier, we find him again becoming dissatisfied with the wording of his poem. Again he resolved to revise it thoroughly, but this time he is more careful about the form than the matter. Minute corrections and alterations were made in almost every line; a few passages were curtailed, and others somewhat lengthened. Perceiving that one long passage of his poem as it stood in the second draught was, as to its general contents, a repetition of a former passage, he so transposed his material as to bring the two passages together, interweaving them with such ingenuity that the numerous insertions seem to fall into their places naturally enough. The resulting third draught of the poem is not much longer than the second. In some points he made improvements, but the general effect of the whole is less striking and original; this being the inevitable result of his obvious desire to tone down some of the more outspoken passages, and to express a certain leaning towards conservatism such as frequently comes with advancing years. We are

bound, perhaps, to consider this latest version of the poem as being, upon the whole, the best; but we cannot but remark that, whilst it is more mature, it is less vigorous.

Thus, during a period of more than thirty years, the poem called the Vision of Piers the Plowman, with its appendix of Do-Well, Do-bet, and Do-best, descriptive of three stages in the Christian's life and experience, grew slowly into its final shape under the author's hands. It is a poem of almost unique character, and can hardly be judged by any of the usual standards. In one respect, it reminds us of Butler's Hudibras ; it was obviously written rather to give the author an opportunity of saying many things by the way than on such a definite plan as requires a close attention on the part of a reader. The general plan has but slight coherence, and merely aims at considering what improvement can be made in men's characters, and what hope there is for the world from the teachings of Christianity. He who does a kindly action, does well; but he who teaches men to do good, does better; whilst he who combines both, who does good himself and teaches others to do the same, does best. From frequently dwelling on this theme, the poet at last considers the life of Christ; and, following the narrative of the gospels, describes His entry into Jerusalem, His betrayal and crucifixion. At this point, he supplements the gospel narrative from the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus, describing the descent of Christ into hell, His victory over Satan and Lucifer, and His release of the souls of the patriarchs from their long prison. Then follows the glorious Resurrection of the Saviour, the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the bestowal upon men of the gifts of the Spirit. But the progress of Christianity is checked to some extent by the descent of Antichrist and the attack of the Seven Deadly Sins upon the church; and the poem concludes by reminding us that the church is still militant, that corruptions have crept in where only truth should be preached, and that the end is not yet.

In 1399, during the brief space when the deposition of Richard II. was already imminent but had not yet been decided upon, our author wrote a poem, addressed to the king, upon the subject of the misgovernment under which England suffered. This poem, in the only extant manuscript, breaks off abruptly in the middle of a sentence; and, though it is of considerable interest, its immediate application was speedily set aside by the rapid progress of events.

The manuscripts of Piers the Plowman, in all three versions, are very numerous, and it was once an extremely favourite poem. In

the reign of Edward VI. it was for the first time printed, and went through three editions in one year. It was familiar to several of our great writers, including Lydgate, Skelton, Gascoigne, Drayton, and Spenser. The author's vocabulary is extremely copious, which occasions one difficulty in understanding his language. Some have imagined that his language contains only words of English origin, but this notion must have originated in extreme ignorance. He uses, in fact, the common midland dialect of the time, into which French words were introduced with great freedom; and the percentage of French words employed by him is slightly greater than that which is to be found in Chaucer. The metre is the usual unrhymed alliterative metre of the older English period; almost the only metre which can rightly be called English, since nearly all others have been borrowed from French or Italian. We commonly find about three syllables in each line, which begin with the same letter; and such syllables are, as a rule, accented ones. The general swing of the lines has been described as anapæstic; it is rather dactylic, with one or more unaccented syllables prefixed. The characters which William describes as appearing to him in consecutive visions have all allegorical names, and some are visionary enough; but others may have been sketched from the life, and are as distinct as a drawing by Hogarth. The chief power of his writing resides in its homely earnestness, and in his hearty hatred of untruth in every form. In treating of theological questions, he is often obscure, minute, and tedious; but in treating of life and manners he is keen, direct, satirical, and vivid. Some portions of the poem could well be spared; others are of much value. It is not suited to all readers; but most of those who explore it must be glad that they have done so. Apart from its literary merit, it is one of the most valuable linguistic monuments in the whole range of our literature.

Instead of giving, as is usual, short scraps of the poem which are almost unintelligible for lack of context, we present here, in a much abridged form, the 21st Passus or canto of the poem, the subject of which will be readily perceived. It deals with Christ's entry into Jerusalem, the crucifixion, descent into hell, and resurrection.

In the following extract, the spelling has been modernised, because the language is a little difficult, as is usual in alliterative poems. It is given as a specimen of style, but has no linguistic value in its modern dress.

W. W. SKEAT.

FROM THE VISION OF PIERS THE PLOWMAN'

PASSUS XXI. (Latest Version.)

Wo-weary and wetshod

2

[ocr errors]

went I forth after,

As a reckless renk1 that recketh not of sorrow, And yede forth like a lorel3· all my life-time, Till I wex1 of this world and wilned 5 eft to sleep, weary And leaned me till Lent

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

and long time I slept.

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Barefoot on an ass-back bootless came pricking,

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]
[ocr errors]

As is the kind of a knight that cometh to be dubbed,

[ocr errors]

To get his gold spurs and galoches 10 y-couped 11.

Then was Faith in a fenestre 12 • and cried, 'Ah! fili David!' As doth an herald of arms

[ocr errors]

13

when auntres come to jousts.

Old Jews of Jerusalem · for joy they sung,

14

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Piers fruit the Plowman 16. and he preynte1 upon me,

[ocr errors]

17

Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini. Then I frayned 1 at Faith what all that fare meant, And who should joust in Jerusalem 'Jesus,' he said, 'And fetch that 15 the fiend claimeth 'Is Piers in this place?' quoth I 'Liberum Dei arbitrium,' quoth he That this Jesus, of his gentrise 18 In his helm and in his habergeon That Christ be not known for consummatus Deus, In Piers' plates the Plowman this pricker 20 shall ride; For no dint 21 shall him dere 22 as in Deitate patris.'

[ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]

'for love hath undertaken shall joust in Piers' arms, · humanâ naturâ.

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]

'Who shall joust with Jesus?' quoth I'Jews, or the scribes?' 'Nay,' quoth Faith, but the fiend and false-doom-to-die. Death saith he will for-do1 and adown bring

[merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

Piers fruit the Plowman,

That, for all that Death can do ・ within three days,
To walk, and fetch from the fiend
And lay it where him liketh and Lucifer bind,
And for-beat3 and bring adown

[ocr errors]

O mors, ero mors tua!

bale and death for ever!

Then came Pilate with much people · sedens pro tribunali,

4

To see how doughtily Death should do and deem their beyer

right".

The Jews and the justices against Jesus they were,

[ocr errors][merged small]

6

[ocr errors]

Then put him forth a pilour · before Pilate, and said, 'This Jesus of our Jews' temple japed' and despised, To for-do it on a day and in three days after

[ocr errors]

Edify it eft new here He stands that said it,

8

And yet make it as much
Both as long and as large ·
And as wide as it ever was

in all manner [of] points
aloft and aground,

this we witness all !'

[ocr errors]

'Crucifige!' quoth a catch-poll he can of witchcraft.

'Tolle! tolle!' quoth another And began of a green thorn

And set it sore on His head

[ocr errors][merged small]
[ocr errors]

'Ave! Rabbi!' quoth that ribald and reeds shot at His eyes: And nailed Him with three nails · naked on the rood,

[ocr errors]

And, with a pole, poison · [they] put to his lips,

11 •

And bade Him drink, His death to let and His days lengthen ; And said, 'if He soothfast be· He will Himself help;

And now, if Thou be Christ God's son of heaven,

Come adown off this rood and then will we 'lieve

[ocr errors]

That life Thee loveth and will not let Thee die.'

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
« PreviousContinue »