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''Cleanness'' (Middle English: ''Clannesse'') is a Middle English alliterative poem written in the late 14th century. Its unknown author, designated the ''Pearl poet'' or ''Gawain poet'', also appears, on the basis of dialect and stylistic evidence, to be the author of ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'', ''Pearl'', and ''Patience'', and may have composed ''St. Erkenwald''. The poem is found solely in the Pearl manuscript, ''Cotton Nero A x''. That manuscript also contains ''Pearl'', ''Patience'', and ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight''. None of the poems has a title or divisions of chapters, but the breaks are marked by large initial letters of blue, and there are twelve illustrations (or illuminations) contained within the manuscript, depicting scenes from the four poems. Each of these poems is entirely unique to this one manuscript. ''Cleanness'' (which is an editorial title) is also known by the editorial title ''Purity''. The manuscript, Cotton Nero A.x is in the British Museum. The first published edition was in ''Early English Alliterative Poems in the West Midland Dialect of the fourteenth century'', printed by the Early English Text Society. ''Cleanness'' is a description of the virtues of cleanliness of body and the delights of married love. It takes three subjects from the Bible as its illustrations: the Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the fall of Belshazzar. Each of these is described powerfully, and the poetry is among the finest in Middle English. In each case, the poet warns his readers about the dangers of defilement and, at the same time, the joys of purity. == Genre and poetics == A didactic, homiletic poem, ''Cleanness'' consists of 1812 lines. Alliteration is used consistently throughout the poem, usually with three alliterating words per line. The unidentified narrator or preacher speaks in the first person throughout the work. It is an exemplum from the perspective of many. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cleanness」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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