Survey of Medieval Literature

The Wakefield Second Shepherd's Play

"The Second Shepherd's Play" is representative of the mystery play, a dramatization of an episode from the Bible, often referred to as a "miracle play." The play was written in most likely the late fifteenth century, and comes from an folk-tale. The plot of the play is at times a mimic and a reversal of the birth of Christ. Though the play is comic, the metaphors within it reveal the hope that Christ brings to humanity.

The drama begins with a conversation between shepherds as they watch over their sheep. They are complaining of the hardships of life, their jobs and employers, and the weariness they feel. Mak enters the scene, chimes in with complaints about his wife, and waits until the shepherds fall asleep. He then takes the opportunity to steal an unguarded sheep. He carries it home, and his wife Gill devises the scheme to put the sheep in a cradle and pretend it's her newborn son. When the shepherds realize they lost a sheep, they immediately blame Mak, and search his home. They eventually discover that the babe is their missing sheep. They punish Mak by tossing him in a blanket, then return to the fields. An angel arrives and calls to the shepherds, telling them to find the child born in Bethlehem. They enter the stable and discover Mary and the Christ-child.

The first half of the play is an interesting reversal of the nativity scene: Mak's arrival is much like the angel's, but his "quaint" spectacle is a false show. Gill, with her drunken and scheming nature, is a foil to Mary, who appears more gentle and fair following Gill's performance. The ram hidden in the cradle is horned, with a long snout, and representative of the devil--the audience is shown that as evil enters the world, good will be brought forth to conquer it. The peaceful, awe-stricken tone at the end of the play is very moving, especially after the previous trivial complaints of the shepherds and Mak.

posted by Ashley @ 11:06 AM