Langland's Early Modern Identities

Description: Kelen studies the reception of William Langland and "Piers Plowman" from the early modern period to the early twentieth century. She focuses on editions of the work and the works it inspired, efforts to identify Langland and construct his biography, and early appreciative criticism. The study includes frequent comparisons with Chaucer's status in literary history and in anthologies of English literature, references to Chaucerian apocrypha (especially "The Plowman's Tale"), and descriptions of biographies and fictional reconstructions of the poets' lives, especially efforts to explore their possible meetings and the lines of influence. See also no. 361.