<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations . Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . (May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations . Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . (May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> William Langland (/ ˈlæŋlənd /; Latin: Willielmus de Langland; c. 1332--c. 1386) is the presumed author of a work of Middle English alliterative verse generally known as Piers Plowman, an allegory with a complex variety of religious themes . The poem translated the language and concepts of the cloister into symbols and images that could be understood by a layman . </P> <P> Very little is known of Langland himself . It seems that he was born in the West Midlands of England in 1330 . The narrator in Piers Plowman receives his first vision while sleeping in the Malvern Hills (between Herefordshire and Worcestershire), which suggests some connection to the area . The dialect of the poem is also consistent with this part of the country . </P>

The chief element of langland's allegory is