Part 1: four-paragraph response
Medieval theatre emerged out of a desire to educate and do outreach for the church. In a sense, medieval theatre had a civic sense of responsibility that hearkens back to the days of ancient Greek culture. Given the readings and the lecture for this module, write a four-paragraph response to medieval theatre. Think of how it transitioned from the strict, church-like atmosphere to the street festival/pageant-quality aspect of it. You might also address any commonalities you see with performance types or traditions today. Are these styles of performance so distant from us?
Warning: this video is not historically accurate. It is a comedy written in the 1960s and this movie is based off a play written by Tom Stoppard. This is definitely an embellishment of what medieval traveling players would have looked like. But, the spirt of the wagon, the fun style of entertainment, and that ability to set up shop and perform is very much in the tradition of medieval traveling players.
Part 2: This should be three-full pages in length.
For your response, respond to the content of this play. First, how does it reflect a Biblical story? What in the story tells a religious tale that might be used by the Church to teach and reach the masses? Then, talk about what is different and unique about the telling of this story. Remember, this is a play that juxtaposes the birth of the Christ figure with a thief who steals a sheep and disguises it as a baby. ?!?! Is this play really comparing baby Jesus to a sheep? What could possibly be the point of this. Lastly, how does this unique form of religious storytelling reflect the historical time period and all the changes that were going on culturally? This should be three-full pages in length.
There is a conception of medieval drama that it must be boring. I know that it’s out there, because I thought so too. How could it not be? It was a time controlled by religion and the drama there was out there, was liturgical or heavily religious and allegorical in nature.
When I first read Second Shepherd’s Play, I was shocked both at how funny it was and how different I had assumed medieval religious drama would be like. I assumed that after the Greeks, I probably should just skip to Shakespeare. But this play changed my mind about the culture of what had previously been thought of as the “Dark Ages.”
