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Article: Nicolette Zeeman, 'Piers Plowman' and the Medieval Discourse of Desire.(Book review)
- Article from:
- Medium Aevum
- Article date:
- March 22, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Society for the Study of Mediaeval Languages and Literature. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Nicolette Zeeman, 'Piers Plowman' and the Medieval Discourse of Desire, Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature 59 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), x + 314 pp. ISBN 0-521-85610-8. 50.00 [pounds sterling].
In this excellent book Nicolette Zeeman identifies and analyses Piers Plowman's proposal that 'there are forces at work that override local moral intentions, forces that turn human desire to good effect' even if that desire is sinful (p. 11). While most readers have seen the poem as narrating a positive education of the will in which '[t]he seeker's failures are thus regrettable and to some degree expendable digressions prior to reform' (pp. ...