The Classic English Literature Podcast

Encountering the Divine: Medieval Dream Vision Poetry

December 08, 2022 Matthew McDonough Season 1 Episode 11
The Classic English Literature Podcast
Encountering the Divine: Medieval Dream Vision Poetry
Show Notes Chapter Markers

For us moderns, dreams are personal and interior, bubbling up from the deep chasms of experience, neurochemistry, and cultural symbolism.  But for the medievals, dreams were exterior: penetrative, intrusive -- they came from the outside, from beyond.  They perhaps were messages from God Himself.  On today's episode, we look at two poems about dream visions: the Old English "Dream of the Rood" and (a quick tour of) William Langland's Middle English "The Vision of Piers Plowman."

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(Cont.) Encountering the Divine: Medieval Dream Vision Poetry

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