Plowman passus 8 & 9
I found Passus 8 a lot more straightforward and understandable than the others that we have read thus far. I was able to follow the plot of Truth granting pardons to many people assuming that they do their duties and follow his orders, and the priest refusing to grant a pardon to Piers who then claims that he will dedicate the rest of his life solely to prayers in order to get pardoned. I think that this was a very interesting place for the dreamer to awake and interrupt the vision, since the conflict does not seem to be fully resolved.
I really enjoyed the dreamer's pondering of his dream and its meaning after he wakes up. There are two quotes in particular that I think capture the entire essence of the content of his dreams: "Et qui bona egerunt, ibunt in vitam eternam; Qui vero mala, in ignem eternum"(A.VIII.94-95) - which translates to " And those who did good deeds, they will go into eternal life...Those, however, who did wicked deeds, into eternal fire" - and "prayeres and pardoun and penauns ben salve/To soules that have synned sythes dedly./Ac to truste on this tryenales, truly me thinketh,/Hit is not so syker for the soule, certus, as is do wel"(A.VIII.161-164). Although the first quote does not come directly from the poem, this line from the Athanasian Creed are used against Piers Plowman when the priest and Truthe claim they cannot pardon him. Similarly, the second quote comes from the dreamer's contemplation of the meaning of his dream, and more specifically relates directly to Piers Plowman begging for pardon. The dreamer ultimately concludes in this line that he believes while it is definitely possible to be granted a pardon, the much easier, simpler, and overall healthier way to gain salvation is to "do wel"(A.VIII.165), an idea the dreamer then begins to search for in Passus 9.
I really enjoyed the dreamer's pondering of his dream and its meaning after he wakes up. There are two quotes in particular that I think capture the entire essence of the content of his dreams: "Et qui bona egerunt, ibunt in vitam eternam; Qui vero mala, in ignem eternum"(A.VIII.94-95) - which translates to " And those who did good deeds, they will go into eternal life...Those, however, who did wicked deeds, into eternal fire" - and "prayeres and pardoun and penauns ben salve/To soules that have synned sythes dedly./Ac to truste on this tryenales, truly me thinketh,/Hit is not so syker for the soule, certus, as is do wel"(A.VIII.161-164). Although the first quote does not come directly from the poem, this line from the Athanasian Creed are used against Piers Plowman when the priest and Truthe claim they cannot pardon him. Similarly, the second quote comes from the dreamer's contemplation of the meaning of his dream, and more specifically relates directly to Piers Plowman begging for pardon. The dreamer ultimately concludes in this line that he believes while it is definitely possible to be granted a pardon, the much easier, simpler, and overall healthier way to gain salvation is to "do wel"(A.VIII.165), an idea the dreamer then begins to search for in Passus 9.
I totally agree! Passus 8 is so much easier to get through and understand probably because it's just going through a list of people who are seeking pardon. I feel like the first quote really does summarize the whole plot, which is mostly comprised of his dreams. I can't believe I didn't realize do wel is Dowel!! Thank you! Great post :-)
ReplyDeleteI really like your analysis of the Dreamer's dreams, especially since you incorporated the Latin/Biblical phrases the characters are, more frequently than ever, trying to incorporate into their speech. I was unsure from the reading whether it was Truth or the priest who did not grant Piers pardon, or if maybe that Latin phrase is meant to symbolize pardon somehow. I also was unaware of who Do-wel was until I read your blog post, so thank you so much for enlightening me on him, Dobet, and Dobest.
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