[In the following excerpt, Morris considers Pearl to be a valuable resource for understanding early English and the art and tradition of the poet.]

[In "The Pearl"], the author evidently gives expression to his own sorrow for the loss of his infant child, a girl of two years old, whom he describes as a

Perle pleasaunte to prynces paye
Pearl pleasant to princes' pleasure,
To clanly clos in golde so clere
Most neatly set in gold so clear.

Of her death he says:

Allas! I leste hyr in on erbere
Alas! I lost her in an arbour,
ÞurƷ gresse to grounde hit fro me yot
Through grass to ground it from me got.—
(p-1.)

The writer then represents himself as visiting his child's grave (or arbour) in the "high season of August," and giving way to his grief (p. 2). He falls asleep, and in a dream is carried toward a forest, where he saw rich rocks gleaming gloriously, hill sides decked with crystal cliffs, and trees the leaves of which were as burnished silver. The gravel under his feet was "precious pearls of orient," and birds "of flaming hues" flew about in company, whose notes were far sweeter than those of the cytole or gittern (guitar) (p. 3). The dreamer arrives at the bank of a stream, which flows over stones (shining like stars in the welkin on a winter's night) and pebbles of emeralds, sapphires, or other precious gems, so

þat all the loƷe lemed of lyƷt
That all the deep gleamed of light,
So dere watƷ hit adubbement
So dear was its adornment.—
(p. 4.)

Following the course of the stream, he perceives on the opposite side a crystal cliff, from which was reflected many a "royal ray" (p. 5).

At þe fote þer-of þer sete a faunt
At the foot thereof there sat a child,
A mayden of menske, ful debonere
A maiden of honour, full debonnair;
Blysnande whyt watƷ hyr bleaunt
Glistening white was her robe,
(I knew hyr wel, I hade sen hyr ere)
(I knew her well, I had seen her before)
At glysnande golde þat man con schore
As shining gold that man did purify,
So schon þat schene an-vnder schore
So shone that sheen (bright one) on the
  opposite shore;
On lenghe I loked to hyr þere
Long I looked to her there,
Þe lenger I knew hyr more & more
The longer I knew her, more and more.—
(pp. 6, 7.)

The maiden rises, and, proceeding along the bank of the stream, approaches him. He tells her that he has done nothing but mourn for the loss of his Pearl, and has been indeed a "joyless jeweller" (p. 8). However, now that he has found his Pearl, he declares that he is no longer sorrowful, but would be a "joyful jeweller" were he allowed to cross the stream (p. 8). The maiden blames her father for his rash speech, tells him that his Pearl is not lost, and that he cannot pass the stream till after death (p. 10). The dreamer is in great grief; he does not, he says, care what may happen if he is again to lose his Pearl. The maiden advises him to bear his loss patiently, and to abide God's doom (p. 11). She describes to him her blissful state in heaven, where she reigns as a queen (p. 12). She explains to him that Mary is the Empress of Heaven, and all others kings and queens (p. 13). The parable of the labourers in the vineyard [Matthew, chapter xx] (pp. 15-18) is then rehearsed at length, to prove that "innocents" are admitted to the same privileges as are enjoyed by those who have lived longer upon the earth (p. 18). The maiden then speaks to her father of Christ and his one hundred and forty thousand brides (p. 24), and describes their blissful state (p. 26), She points out to him the heavenly Jerusalem, which was "all of bright burnished gold, gleaming like glass" (p. 29). Then the dreamer beholds a procession of virgins going to salute the Lamb, among whom he perceives his "little queen" (p. 33). On attempting to cross the stream to follow her, he is aroused from his dream (p. 35), laments his rash curiosity in seeking to know so much of God's mysteries, and declares that man ever desires more happiness than he has any right to expect (p. 35).

This brief outline … together with the short extracts from [it], will, it is hoped, give the reader stomach to digest the whole. It is true that [it contains] many "uncouth" terms; but this will be [its] highest merit with the student of language, as is shown, by Dr. Guest's testimony, that [it is] "for several reasons curious, and especially so to the philologist" [History of English Rhythms, vol. i. p. 159]. To those readers who do not appreciate the importance of such a very large addition to the vocabulary of our Early Language as is made by these treatises, let Sir Frederic Madden's opinion of their literary merit suffice. That distinguished editor says, of the author's "poetical talent, the pieces contained in the MS. afford unquestionable proofs; and the description of the change of the seasons, the bitter aspect of winter, the tempest which preceded the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the sea storm occasioned by the wickedness of Jonas, are equal to any similar passages in Douglas or Spenser." Moreover, as to the hardness of the language—inasmuch as the subject matter of the poem will be familiar to all who may take up the present volume, the difficulty on the word-point will not be such as to deter the reader from understanding and appreciating the production of an old English poet, who—though his very name, unfortunately, has yet to be discovered—may claim to stand in the foremost rank of England's early bards.