Theatre History I: Ritual to
Renaissance:
Miracles and Mysteries
Instructor: Allison Leadley
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Before We Begin…
A few important dates to keep in mind:
Quiz #2
Monday, November 2nd at 12:10
PechaKucha Workshop
Wednesday, November, 4 (second half of class)
Two types of drama during the Middle Ages:
1. Liturgical
2. Vernacular Drama
To remember the types of biblical vernacular
drama, think of The Three M’s
Morality plays
Miracle plays
Mystery plays
By the end of today’s class, you should be able
to describe the characteristics and formal
qualities of the Mystery play.
But first, a quick review…
What are some of the characteristics of the
Morality play?
1. allegorical
2. religious in nature
3. didactic
Miracle Plays
These plays dramatize
the lives and acts of
saints.
Right: Miniature by
Jean Fouquet depicting
the martyrdom of St.
Apollonia
Noah’s Flood and The Wakefield Second
Shepherds’ Pageant are mystery plays
From the French term mystere (meaning secret)
This notion of the secret could be interpreted in
two ways:
1. refer to Biblical truths
2. the secrets of the crafts held by the guilds
who were responsible for producing the
plays
In England, Biblical plays were produced in
cycles
Each cycle would depict Biblical history from the
Creation to the Final Judgment (thus, these
plays are often referred to as cycle plays)
These biblical vernacular drama flourished from
the 14th c. onward
Eventually, each Cathedral town had their own
cycle (Some of these included: York, Wakefield,
Towneley)
The cycles were usually performed at the
religious festival of the Corpus Christi
Zarrilli posits that there are three
reasons for the emergence and
popularity of vernacular biblical
drama:
1. The institution of the new Feast of
Corpus Christi
2. The growth of towns and municipal
government as independent of
feudal lords
3. The gradual development within
the towns of the medieval trade
guild
Each of these events are intimately linked to a
number of both natural and man-made crises…
The Natural Crises:
1. Changing climate: colder and wetter (leads to
poor harvests)
2. As harvest is recovering, a series of epidemics
affected livestock
3. Then, during the mid-century…
The so-called “Black Death” (1346-53) resulted in the death of an
estimated 75 – 200 million people throughout Europe.
Pictured above: The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel
Overlapping these natural disasters were a number of manmade crises which included:
The Hundred Years War (1337 – 1453)
- While war was essentially the concern of the nobility, this
upset the feudal system
- Protection once afforded by the nobles was being redirected to militaristic endeavors
- Thus, seek new form of protection (enter, the guilds)
A growing schism within the Church
-Rival popes in Rome and Avignon
-Introduction of the doctrine of transubstantiation
(promulgated the “real presence” of the body and blood of
Christ in the bread and wine of the Mass)
The Feast of Corpus Christi
1311: Promotion of the new Feast of
Corpus Christi by Pope Clement V
(pictured right)
1350: Feast is now widely observed
What the festival looked like:
-procession of priests through the town
displaying the Host
-procession would be accompanied by
tableaux of biblical scenes representing
Christian history
The Feast of Corpus Christi Continued:
How did this festival evolve into cycle plays (like Noah’s Flood)?
Paris, 1313: actors began to recite the story of the Passion (the
suffering of Christ in the events leading up to—and including—
his crucifixion and resurrection)
Austria, 1391: short speeches
By 1394: set of plays based on key biblical episodes providing a
whole history (“cycle”) of salvation
How were these plays staged?
The cycle plays could have either be
processional or stationary
A panoramic view depicting pageant wagons in Brussels
Processional stages are
associated with the
pageant wagon
-would travel a set route
and perform at several
locations (like a parade)
or
-would be set up around
a town square and the
audience would travel
from one wagon to the
next
Stationary Stages were associated with mansions
-anchored by heaven and hell
-allowed for elaborate special effects (like the hell mouth)
Zarrilli notes a key difference between liturgical
and vernacular dramas:
As vernacular dramas were not attached to the
Mass, there was greater opportunity for
dramatic freedom.
What are some “dramatic licenses” taken by the
author’s of Noah’s Flood and The Second
Shepherds’ Pageant?
Noah’s Flood
How is the play structured? Is the play episodic
or does it follow an Aristotelian plot structure?
The episodic plot structure = a series of
chapters, stories or scenes linked together by
the same character, place, or theme but held
apart by their individual plot, purpose or subtext
(Hint – think of a sitcom in which each individual
episode can “stand alone”)
What is the tone of the play? (Is it a comedy? A
tragedy?) Does this tone change throughout the
play?
- play opens with a serious lamentation by
God
- contrast to this to the scene in which Noah’s
wife “boxes” him in the ear
Are there more realistic elements? Are there
more fantastical elements?
-realistic tone of the domestic scenes
-compare this to the passage of time:
“Then Noah shall shut the window of the Ark,
and for a little space within board he shall be
silent, and afterwards opening the window
and looking round about, saying:
‘Now forty days are fully gone’”
What is one notable difference between this play
text and the biblical text which inspired it?
How would you characterize Noah’s wife?
What could possibly account for the altered (and
increased) role of Noah’s wife in the text?
- Provides dramatic tension
- Theatrical spectacle and comedy (the shrewish
wife is a stock character that we have seen before
– think Plautus- and that you will see again in
Shakespeare’s plays)
- Does she contribute to the play’s “moral” lesson?
Some scholars have drawn parallels
between Noah and his wife and
Adam and Eve
Like Eve, Noah’s wife is disobedient
Like Adam, Noah strives to follow the
commands however, some argue that
Noah is also a “Christ-like” figure
Ultimately, Noah is rewarded:
“My blessing now I give thee here
To thee Noah, my servant dear,
For vengeance shall no more appear;
And now farewell, my darling dear”
(372 – 374)
Could this play be considered
didactic? If so, what does it teach
audiences?
The Wakefield Second Shepherds’
Pageant
-Arguably the most popular
of the English cycle plays
today
-The thirteenth play from the
Wakefield cycle
-An elaboration of a single
sentence from the New
Testament (Luke 2:8)
“And there were in the same
country shepherds abiding in
the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night.”
The Wakefield Second Shepherds’ Pageant is
among the most popular of English cycle plays
and is still performed today. What do you think
could account for its popularity with audiences?
Perhaps, the pleasure from the comedic
spectacle (and that we, the audience, are “in”
on it)?
3 SHEP Yea, our sheep that we get
Are stolen as they yode. Our loss is
great.
MAK
Sirs, drink!
Had I been there,
Some should have bought it full
sore
And another example…
WIFE
Ah, my middle!
I pray to god so mild,
If every I you beguiled,
That I eat this child
That lies in this craddle
What is significant about the structure of the
play?
What happens before the birth of the Christ
child?
When we are first introduced to the shepherds,
they spend a great deal of time lamenting the
general social conditions, marriage, and
insufficient food and drink.
What could be the possible purpose of this?
These are problems faced by the audience
(makes the shepherds relatable and set the play
in “the world” of the original audience)
The scene depicts a world that is in need of
correction (according to the Christian doctrine, a
world that was in need of Christ’s coming)
Finally, sets the mood (prepares us for unusual
events)
What is the purpose of Mak and the mock
nativity scene?
-provides comedic relief
-Mak’s family (Mak, Gil and the “child) are
juxtaposed between Mary, Joseph, and Jesus
For example, consider how Gil is (describedoften, self described) in comparison with Mary:
Gil = cunning
Mary = “a maiden so mild” and “lady, so fair to
behold”
Thus, some elements of biblical vernacular
drama not seen in liturgical drama include:
Sacred and profane
comedic elements with serious biblical tales
Rich, developed, and relatable characters
Dramatic license
“flushing” out events
Some other elements include:
Play with language
Tail rhyme scheme; alliteration
Audience engagement
How is the engagement different from the Mass?
for example, breaking the fourth wall:
“God look over the raw! Fully deafly ye stand” (109
from Second Shepherds’ Pageant)
Anachronisms
Or, chronological inconsistencies
(for example, references to Christ, the Crucifixion in
the play even though these events have yet to occur)
Quiz Review
Reminder, your second quiz is on Monday,
November 2nd.
Some tips to help you prepare:
1. Ensure that you have completed all assigned
readings
2. Pay close attention to terms or names that are
repeated within lectures OR between the
lecture and the Zarrilli reading
-Tip: While memorizing a term is useful, see if you can relate the
term to a specific example from the play text or reading (This
will provide you with a “deeper” understanding of the concept)
3. Review passages of the play text studied in class
Tip: make sure that you can not only identify what play the
passage is from and its context (what is happening in the
passage) but consider what the passage exemplifies. Is it a
specific idea? Concept? A theme?
4. During the quiz, be sure to read all questions very carefully,
make sure you identify what the question is asking.
5.During the quiz, if unsure of an answer, look for clues that
may help you along.
for example, in the matching section of the first quiz,
Schechner and Turner were the only contemporary sounding
names, thus, you can deduce that they belong with the
contemporary theories we studied at the start of the
semester…
What to Study:
Bharata, Nātyaśāstra (How would you describe the tone of the text? Why was
it written? Why was it important?)
Kālidāsa, The Recognition of Śākuntalā
Mesoamerican ritual performances
Hrostvitha, Dulcitius
Everyman
Wakefield Master, The Second Shepherds’ Play
The Chester Cycle, Noah’s Flood
Some (select) key terms and ideas related to the
Golden Age of Sanskrit Theatre:
Sanskrit
Atman and Brahman
Dharma
Caste System
Rasa (The Ninth Rasa)
Nataka vs. Invented dramas
Ranga
Abhinaya
Some (select) key terms and ideas related to
Mesoamerican performance:
The Popal Vuh
Catilian-language in documenting ritual
performance?
Play of the Voladores
Gueguence
Patzca
Embodied Knowledge
Rabinal Achi
The Great Death of the Flesh
The Final Judgment
Some (select) key terms and ideas related to
Medieval performance:
The Dark Ages
Tropes
Mansions
Platea
Hell mouths
Liturgical drama
Vernacular drama
Didactic