Vox Clamantis ("the voice of one crying out") is a Latin poem of 10,265 lines in elegiac couplets by John Gower (1330 – October 1408) . The first of the seven books is a dream vision giving a vivid account of the Peasants' Rebellion of 1381. Macaulay described the remaining books: "The general plan of the author is to describe the condition of society and of the various degrees of men, much as in the latter portion of the Speculum Meditantis." Fisher concludes that books II-V were written in the 1370s while the author was writing similar passages in Mirour de l'Omme. Versions Wickert divides the manuscripts into two groups:A-text (=Macaulay initial version= Fisher b-version) and B-text (=Macaulay final version= Fisher c-version). The A-text for Book VI condemns the advisors of a young King Richard; the corresponding B-text condemns "the king's corrupt and corrupting young associates." There is a unique manuscript (MS Laud (Misc) 719 SC10601) which omits the Visio and numbers the books I-VI. Fisher calls this the a-version. Both Wickert and Fisher agree that the existence of this manuscript is strong evidence that the bulk of Vox was written before the Peasants' Revolt. Genre and purpose Book One is a dream-vision. Galloway claims the Gower's use of dream-vision contributed to the demolition of the form. He cites only two instances of dream-vision in the fifteenth century. "Gower's reassessment of the dream-vision form throughout his career progressively and caustically dissolve its claims to revealing suprahuman powers, while using the form to explore the connections between human thought and interpretation and human needs and appetites." Most critics cite the remaining books as an example of estate satire where the author complains about various problems in society. "This universal voice, the voice of the Old Testament prophets, is the mode of perception and expression that distinguishes medieval complaint from classical satire." Wickert disagrees and argues that these books have the form of a medieval sermon described in Luke 3:7-9. Fisher summarizes: "What distinguishes Gower's views from those of many of his contemporaries, and places him among the progressive thinkers of this day, is his emphasis upon legal justice and regal responsibility for all the estates, defined in terms of "le biencoomue," "bonus communi," or "the common good," depending on the language in which be happened to be writing" Wickert asks the rhetorical question: "Did Gower achieve his goal?" Mirour included a