The title refers not to a second shepherd but to the fact that this play was the second of two plays that dealt with the biblical Nativity story . Mystery plays, which are so named because they refer to the spiritual mystery of Christ’s birth and death, combine comic elements with biblical stories.
What was Wakefield Cycle known for?
Although almost the entire manuscript is in a fifteenth-century hand, the cycle was performed as early as the fourteenth century in an earlier form. The Wakefield Cycle is most renowned for the inclusion of “The Second Shepherds’ Play,” one of the jewels of medieval theatre .
Who was the Wakefield Master?
The Wakefield Master was an anonymous playwright who wrote in the fifteenth century . Early scholars suggested that a man by the name of Gilbert Pilkington was the author, but this idea has been disproved by Craig and others.
How many plays did the Wakefield cycle have?
Wakefield plays, also called Towneley plays, a cycle of 32 scriptural plays , or mystery plays, of the early 15th century, which were performed during the European Middle Ages at Wakefield, a town in the north of England, as part of the summertime religious festival of Corpus Christi.
Why is it called the second shepherd?
The Second Shepherds’ Play (also known as The Second Shepherds’ Pageant) is a famous medieval mystery play which is contained in the manuscript HM1, the unique manuscript of the Wakefield Cycle. ... This play gained its name because in the manuscript it immediately follows another nativity play involving the shepherds.
What is the Second Shepherd’s play about?
The Second Shepherds’ Play (also known as The Second Shepherds’ Pageant) is a famous medieval mystery play which is contained in the manuscript HM1, the unique manuscript of the Wakefield Cycle. ... In both plays it becomes clear that Christ is coming to Earth to redeem the world from its sins.
Which morality play is a contest between virtues and vices?
Three of the plays, the Castle of Perseverance, Mundus et Infans (printed 1522), and Henry Medwall’s (fl. 1490) Nature, present the lifelong struggle between the Vices and Virtues for the soul of man and are therefore called full-scope morality plays.
How is mak able to steal a sheep from the shepherds?
When night falls, all the shepherds must sleep. They force Mak to sleep between them so that the shepherds will sense if Mak gets up during the night to steal one of their sheep. In the middle of the night, Mak gets up and quickly casts a spell over the shepherds to ensure they won’t wake up until long after daybreak.
Is the Second shepherds Play a morality play?
... anonymous Wakefield Master, and his Second Shepherds’ Play is one of the masterpieces of medieval English literature. The morality plays were allegorical dramas depicting the progress of a single character, representing the whole of humankind, from the cradle to the grave and sometimes beyond.
Who is Mak in the Second shepherds Play?
Mak is the primary antagonist of the play, husband of Gill , father of several children, and enemy to the three shepherd protagonists, Coll, Gyb, and Daw. Widely known as a thief, Mak steals a sheep from the other shepherds, even though he knows the offense is punishable by hanging.
Who wrote the Wakefield Cycle?
Cawley published in 1958 as The Wakefield Pageants in the Towneley Cycle: the Killing of Abel and the five plays written entirely in a particular ‘bob and wheel’ stanza form, namely, Noah, the two Shepherds plays, Herod the Great, and the Buffeting — all attributed to a single anonymous poet , sometimes argued to be the ...
What is a cycle drama?
A phrase used by scholars of medieval theatre to refer to the sequences of episodes that dramatize the sweep of Christian salvation history from Creation to Judgement .
What is Miracle Play in literature?
Miracle play, also called Saint’s Play, one of three principal kinds of vernacular drama of the European Middle Ages (along with the mystery play and the morality play). A miracle play presents a real or fictitious account of the life, miracles, or martyrdom of a saint.
Who performed in mystery plays?
The mystery plays and morality plays of the 15th and 16th centuries were very different from modern drama. They were performed in public spaces by ordinary people , and organised and funded by guilds of craftsmen and merchants.
How do you cite the Second Shepherds Play?
MLA (7th ed.)
Child, Clarence G. The Second Shepherds’ Play: Everyman, and Other Early Plays. Cambridge, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1938. Print.
What describes a mystery play?
: a medieval drama based on scriptural incidents (such as the creation of the world, the Flood, or the life, death, and resurrection of Christ) — compare miracle play.
