Essay Questions

Explain the prologue of the poem.

In the beginning of the poem, the narrator describes the reason for writing the book and among the reasons mentioned is how he wanted to write something in English for the English people. The poem was written in the 14th century, a time when few literary works were written by English men in English. The vast majority of literature that existed was either translations or religious writings. The narrator wanted to break away from this and to create something for the English people. Thus, the prologue is used as a way of explaining the reason why he wrote this poem and also why he wrote it in English and not in Latin, as it was the custom during that time.

Explain why the first book opens with the description of the statue seen by the King mentioned in the Book of Daniels in the Bible.

The first book opens with the description of the statue described in the book of Daniel where a king dreams of a strange statue made from different materials. The legs of the statue are made out of clay combined with iron, making the statue extremely unstable. The clay and the iron are used here as a symbol in order to transmit the need to repent and confess one’s sins. The iron is a symbol for the hard part of a person’s character, their virtues and their morality while the clay, the malleable and soft part represents the sinful nature of a person. This image has the purpose of transmitting two main ideas and also to describe humanity in general. First, the narrator wanted to transmit the idea that humans have a sinful part, one they can’t escape from. This part is mixed with our morals and virtues and has the possibility to destabilize us and make us fall. Second, it is important to separate the two and remain with only one element because they are built into our structure and thus no matter how hard a person tries, getting rid of them is impossible. The description also sets the tone for the rest of the book in which the struggles men have are highlighted.

Why was Richard II criticized by the narrator?

Richard II was the man who ruled during the time when the narrator wrote his poem. Richard was named king at the age of 10 and ruled for 23 years, until he was captured and replaced by one of his political rivals. Richard was criticized because of his lack of leadership. During his time, he tried to make peace with the nations England was at war but he also relied a lot on the advice of his council. The reason why Richard agreed to this is because the council already riled for a few years in the King’s place because he was so young. However, when the King came of age, he still gave too much power to the council and this angered the general population who wanted the King to take over and assume the power.