I made the first step toward this study of William Langland's fourteenth-century poem 'Piers Plowman (The Vision of William Concerning Piers Plowman) in 1958. Keeping in mind the student and the general reader, I have sought the man Langland, a poet of whom there is much to be said, and I have highlighted the features which I believe to be of most use to the beginner. This book is, therefore, more literal than might be expected by experienced students...