ABSTRACT

The work is a complete unity in which the poet explores the relationship between the finite and the infinite on a number of inter-related levels, and the Dreamer’s role is to represent the finite on all these levels in contrast to Piers Plowman who represents the infinite. The ambiguity may be ‘a defence against critics’, but it contributes to the general sense of uncertainty that Piers leaves. Piers Plowman is often compared with the mystery cycles both in contemporary reference and in the selection of Biblical episodes. Piers for him must exist in one place and as one person and this limited vision is the main barrier to the Dreamer’s understanding. Piers’s problem in directing the pilgrims is that of the Dreamer in his role of narrator, for although the dream-experience admits the infinite, any verbal expression, whether sentence or poem, is finite and limited.