True adventures, allegories and audience

  Authors employ different strategies to convey the main message of their work. The
strategies used are as important as the main message as they are the vehicle within which the
author’s ideas are communicated to the audience. William, in Piers Plowman, makes use of
several strategies. For instance, the poem has an allegorical figure of Conscience which William
uses to remind the reader of the standards of Christian living. The Conscience is depicted as a
mentor to Will, whose main role is to guide him through visions and dreams and ensure that he
sticks along the path of righteousness. William’s poem is an alliterative and unrhymed verse that
is divided into passus or steps. The author uses each passus to teach the audience differently. The
reader can anticipate that the beginning of the next passus ushers in a new lesson for them.
Further, Marie’s genre of poetry is different from William’s, and this is evident in the
elements of their poems as well as the strategies used. Marie uses enchantments and fairies in her
work to convey her main message to her audience. Her diction is formal as she describes her
courtly love, affairs, marriages and courtly manners. She also mentions actions expected of men
and women at the court. She uses metaphor extensively in the poem to convey her message. For
instance, she states, “Love pricks him, strikes in him the spark– Now his heart blazes in the
dark”. The poet’s choice of language romanticizes the poem. She describes emotions, feelings
and different elements of relationships between different people. Additionally, Marie’s poems
have a striking resemblance. For instance, IN Bisclavret, the poet urges the readers not to put
their trust in other people no matter how they are related. The poet takes her readers on an
adventure where they realize that Bisclavret’s wife turned on him upon finding out his secret.
The author takes the readers on an adventurous fair as they watch characters develop as they
deliver the main message.

On the other hand, Sir Gawain offers a moral allegory; it has a combination of elements
found in Marie’s and William’s works. Gawain struggles with faith, and this shows an analogous
relationship to that described in Genesis about Adam. Additionally, the character’s journey
mirrors the story of the original sin as described in the spiritual text in the book of Genesis. Sir
Gawain is a heroic knight. It also has elements of medieval romance, and this makes it have
certain similar characteristics to Marie’s writing strategies.
Overall, Sir Gawain is a romance hero who does all the things those other epics do, such
as “rescuing damsels, fighting creatures and defeating bandits”. He is tested and, unfortunately,
fails the test. Sir Gawain’s allegory, same as William’s allegory and Marie’s adventures, have
one thing in common. Although the three belong to different genre styles, they somehow apply
the same strategies to pass across their messages or teach their audiences. The use of symbols is
common in the different works. Christian themes and romantic themes also dominate. Sir
Gawain has elements of romance and Christianity. Also, there are elements of romance and
religion in Marie’s and William’s work, respectively. For instance, topologically, the audience
learns through Marie’s and Sir Gawain’s adventures. Also, the audience learns through the
allegory of Sir Gawain and the allegory of William.