Love Theme Analysis

Piers Plowman follows the protagonist, Will, through a series of eight complex dream visions (plus two additional dreams within dreams), where he learns from a wide variety of allegorical figures. With Will’s teachers as a mouthpiece, the poem asserts that the life of a Christian must revolve around love, just as Christianity itself does. However, such love must extend beyond loving God to loving others, especially one’s enemies. Piers Plowman asserts that although such widespread love sounds difficult, everyone is capable of giving love.

Christianity rests on a foundation of love. Wit’s wife, Dame Study, affirms that Theology (the study of God) is laced with love. She says that since Theology “…allows so much to Love, I love it the better, / For wherever Love is leader, there’s no lack of grace.” Love makes Theology worth exploring, since without this love, Theology “would be a lame study.” Earlier in the poem, love is conflated with Christ himself. Holy Church explains to Will, “Love is leader of the Lord’s people in Heaven.” Love, meaning Christ, is the “street that goes straight to Heaven.” In this way, love is both the way to Christ and Christ himself. Holy Church also defines God in terms of love, referring to him as “Deus caritas,” meaning God is love. She says that God declares Truth, which is a “love-gift.” Throughout the poem, Truth is one of the two representations of God (alongside Kind). Thus, the Holy Church means that God and his message are imbued with love. Later in the text, during the Harrowing of Hell, Christ rescues “those that our Lord loved,” showing that Christianity centers on a reciprocal love between God and his people.

Because love in Piers Plowman is a fundamental part of Christianity, Christians are called to love other people—including their enemies. Scripture, Clergy’s wife, teaches Will that loving God and loving others is an essential part of receiving salvation: “…love your God as dearest love of all, / And then all Christian creatures… / And thus it behooves him to love that hopes to be saved.” Building on Scripture’s teaching, the Samaritan, a biblical figure from the Gospel of Luke, teaches Will that he must love his fellow Christians as much as he loves himself. However, the poem points out that Christians cannot be selective with who they love. Christians are called to love people from all walks of life, as represented by the “field full of folk” from the Prologue. Kind, one of the two representations of God, tells Will that the most important thing to do during one’s lifetime is to learn to love, for “If you love folk faithfully,” God will always provide for you. Likewise, Roman Emperor Trajan, whom Will meets in a dream-within-a-dream, instructs Will to love “…folk of all factions, whether friends or enemies.” Loving people from all walks of life means that Christians must also love their enemies and those who frustrate them. When Piers Plowman is angered by the people who refuse to work, he calls upon Hunger for help. Piers tells Hunger, “…they’re my blood brothers, for God bought us all. / Truth taught me once to love them every one.” Piers knows that he is called by God (Truth) to love all people, even when he feels frustrated. Hunger affirms that such non-discriminatory love is what “the law of Kind [i.e. God] directs.” Likewise, Patience teaches Will to love “Your enemy in every way even as you love yourself.” Patience’s teaching highlights that loving one’s enemy is done “for the Lord of Heaven’s sake,” meaning that loving one’s enemies is part of loving God.

Even though constantly showering others with love sounds difficult, Piers Plowman affirms that everyone is capable of giving love. The Samaritan, a biblical figure from the Gospel of Luke, explains to Will that “no one is so sick or so much a wretch / That he may not love if he likes… / And love them like himself, and lead a better life.” Love is possible even for those who are physically ill or have hardened hearts. Even Roman Emperor Trajan, a non-Christian, lived his life with such love and upright moral character that he was saved from Hell and allowed to dwell in the lowest part of Heaven.

Piers Plowman asserts that just as Christianity centers on love, so should the life of a Christian. Much of Piers Plowman is marked by sharp, often-overt criticisms of the Church, but the emphasis on love is a reminder that the poem is not critical of Christianity itself but the way that the Church has given into human corruption. In the text, William Langland urges his readers to recognize that Christianity hinges on love and to carry over this love into their daily lives. Langland emphasizes what is peppered throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament: love God, love your neighbor, and love your enemies. Piers Plowman provides particular emphasis on the latter—love your enemies—suggesting that for Langland, loving one’s enemies could be an antidote for the tumultuous political, religious, and social climate of the late fourteenth century.