The Scheme of Salvation:Labor and Sloth in William Langland''s Piers Plowman (the C-Text)

• Main Authors: Hsiou-chen Cheng, 鄭秀珍
• Other Authors: Ming-yueh Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/71050390267878007735

碩士 === 國立中正大學 === 外國文學所 === 96 === Piers Plowman exposes a radical social and moral problem of William Langland''s London: the problem of sloth. This thesis argues that true labor is crucial both to the scheme of salvation presented in Langland''s Piers Plowman and to Langland''s idea of how to live an ethical life in a poor and slothful society. Langland uses the complexity of dream narrative to probe the problem of sloth in his day. His moral vision modifies a more severe scholastic approach to the problem of sloth or acedia as a sin of the flesh mainly associated with one’s spiritual dryness. Langland''s depiction of Sleuthe the figure or of the theme of sloth emphasizes more the aspect of one''s negligence of worldly duties than a sin of the flesh. Chapter One aims to demonstrate that the poem presents itself as the site of an emerging awareness of the vital importance of labor to the individual and to the good of society. What do the three Dos mean in the poem? Why does Will the Dreamer fail in his search for Do-Well? By highlighting the fraudulent beggary, Langland demonstrates how dishonest labor can sabotage justice and deteriorate the society. Chapter Two explores Langland’s concept of sloth and the poet''s concern of the waste of worldly goods, time, and manual labor in the society. Langland elaborately describes Will the Dreamer as the embodiment of sloth in order to further reveal the Franciscan ideal of patient poverty. In the inner dreams, Will follows Fortune to the Lond of Longyng, misspending his lifetime without the slightest idea that his primary obligation is to repair his relationship with God--redde quod debes (“pay what you owe”). In the economy of salvation, God demands restitution. Will’s wanhope is a result of his sloth. In traditional teaching, the confession of Sleuthe includes despair or wanhope—the extreme spiritual effect of acedia. Langland not only incorporates the popular images of sloth into the poem, but also associates the sin of sloth with Will''s lack of true labor to win salvation.