in a mile

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Piers Plowman

For me, Langland's alliteration very distinctly defined the two opposing forces that seemed to be at odds in his dream. In lines 30 and 31 and again in line 59, his alliteration of "L" emphasizes the idea of the Lord through words such as light and life. Around these same lines, he employs words like drag down, dread, darkness, deep, and destroys to embody the notion of death and the devil. This collection of "L" words versus "D" words give the impression of two separate factions and allows the reader to clearly see the struggle and the forces behind it. I think the use of alliteration makes the passage a little easier to comprehend in general because ideas are clearly related through alliteration.

There were a few other things that grabbed my attention but are perhaps of little relevance. The fact that Faith is a male surprised me at first, mainly because today the name is feminine and although it often times implies strength, it does not seem to carry a very masculine connotation. Also, on page 332, the "truest form of pilgramige" seems almost like a primitive idea of communisim. Although there are still class distinctions, all of the classes are to work harmoniously and towards the same goal. However, like communism, this ideal is flawed and collapses.

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