Passus 4 clarifies the purpose of why ideals are personified into characters. Prior to this segment of “Piers Plowman”, the allegory was difficult to understand. I was struggling with the significance of the characters being virtues, such as Truth, False, Wrong, and Mede. However, Passus 4 demonstrates a clear example of how the ideals are used in context. For example, Conscience is determined to meet with Reason, seeking his advice on whether a marriage to Mede would be a good fit. “And ryght rennes to Resoun, and rowens in his ere,/Seyde him as the king sente, and swythe tok his leve” (Plowman, 4, 14-15). Conscience is described as speaking in the ear of Reason, curious about the opinion of the more astute and thoughtful character to pass judgement. Therefore, Reason is a character who provides consultation and logic. As a result, the virtue of reason is reflected in the character’s depiction. Until Passus 4, the character’s relationship to his or her virtue was not as simple. For example, Truth is a character who questions Mede’s and False’s engagement. Initially, I did not understand the significance of Truth passing judgement on someone else’s relationship. However, I have concluded that Truth adopted the role of identifying fake love. Mede and False were not being honest with one another about their feelings, as they do not actually love each other. Consequently, Truth’s purpose is to ensure that all the characters are acting authentically. So, she cannot allow Mede and False to marry one another because they are not truly in love. Passus 5 was an interesting transition into the second dream. The narrator awakens and then falls back to sleep, witnessing the sins of “Envy” and “Drynke” seek repentance and innocence. The Sins seem to be confessing, hoping to become more pure. In contrast, in Passi 2-4, Mede (which means bribery), does not make any effort to change her behavior. Instead, she indulges in her vice. Similarly, Wrong, Mede’s father, commits a crime. However, he is not attempting to seek forgiveness. Therefore, Passus 5 differentiates between the intentions of the characters who are guilty of vices.
Your post totally just cleared all confusion about the names!! I remember you saying in class how Theology stops Mede and False's marriage, because incest is not allowed by a theological state. It's so cool reading about how all the names match their personalities and beings!
ReplyDeleteChapter 5 as transition was most definitely strange, as the narrator walks barely 200 yards before passing out again. You almost forget that the narrator is dreaming, as so much of the story takes place within the dream so far. It's a really interesting perspective for a plot, in that the actions of the narrator himself seem not to matter to much at the present moment.
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