form and the rebels are condemned. Gower recounts the events of the revolt in "the form of a personal nightmare". Both Visio and Chronica "represent a thorough re-creation of historical events, reordered and recombined so as to fulfill the poet's own artistic vision and political purpose." Cornelius remarked that "Visio Anglie is distinguished from [other] chronicles, however, by Gower's unbridled fictive imagination, beside which the inventions of Walsingham and Froissart appear tame." Wickert divides Book I into three sections: Beast Vision (Chapters 2-12 ;first week of June) Troy Vision (Chapters 13–15; 13–14 June) Ship Vision and Epilogue (Chapters 16–21; 13–15 June) Prologue Gower provides a traditional prologue by stating the author, subject and purpose. Wickert traced this back to Honorious of Autun's commentary on the Song of Solomon. The author is identified by a cryptogram. Purpose and subject are covered by: For I shall write nothing in order that I might be praised, and my performance does not intend that I should have a care for my future reputation. I shall enter the recent misfortunes that my country has exhibited, for it is a worthy labor to report the deeds of one's native land. Wickert made several comments about the Prologue and Chapter 1. This is followed by a twelve line passage with several references to tears. The passage is emotional but only in the antepenultimate line does the word timor (fear) appear. "Thus Gower establishes an important coupling of sorrow and fear for the entire vision". Chapter One begins with a description of a spring day and seques into darkness where the dream begins. The daylight start is in the literary tradition of early Chaucer and others. In Biblical tradition, bad news tends to arrive at night. Therefore, Gower was obliged to dream by night. Beast Vision (Chapters 2-12 ;first week of June) The revolting peasants are transformed into asses, oxen, swine, dogs, cats, foxes, birds, flies and frogs. The typical model in Chapters 2-6 is that the rabble are transformed into rebellious domestic animals. These animals neglect their normal role of pulling a plow or pursuing a stag. There are usually references to classical animals of that species such as the bulls of Colchis and Minos. There may be one especially fearsome individual such as fire-breathing boar of Chapter 4. The animals have insatiate hunger and terrify people. Exodus 8 supplied the frogs and flies. Chapters 9 and