The Wakefield Cycle: The Second Shepherds' Play

What is the name of the medieval mystery play cycle that includes The Second Shepherds' Play?

What is the characteristic of the 13-line stanza in The Second Shepherds' Play?

What is the main theme of The Second Shepherds' Play?

What is the name given to the unknown author of several plays in the Wakefield Cycle?

Who performed the medieval mystery plays?

What is the purpose of the medieval mystery plays?

What do the shepherds discover in the cradle at Mak's cottage?

What is the central theme of this play?

What do the shepherds bring to the baby Jesus?

Why do the shepherds humiliate Mak?

Who appears to the shepherds while they are resting?

What is the tone of the play according to the summary?

What is the main complaint of the second shepherd, Gib?

What is the occupation of Mak, the thief, in the play?

Why do the shepherds allow Mak to sleep with them for the night?

What is the plan devised by Mak's wife to hide the stolen sheep?

What is the biblical reference made by the third shepherd, Gill?

A medieval mystery play part of the Wakefield Cycle, written in stanzaic form with a 13-line stanza and a specific rhyme scheme.
Performed during the Corpus Christi festivities by guilds, often with a direct link between the scene and their craft.

The play opens with three shepherds, Coll, Gib, and Gill, delivering soliloquies about their miserable lives, complaining about the cold, poverty, marriage, and hardship.
The shepherds meet and go off singing together.
A thief, Mak, disguises himself as a yeoman and is initially fooled by the shepherds, but eventually steals one of their sheep.
Mak's wife comes up with a plan to hide the sheep in a cradle, pretending it's a baby, in case the shepherds search the house.

The play explores overt religious themes, focusing on redemption through forgiveness and suffering.
The shepherds, despite their tough lives, ultimately achieve redemption through forgiveness.
The play teaches lessons about Christianity, highlighting the importance of forgiveness and redemption.

Mystery plays, like The Second Shepherds' Play, were popular during the 14th and 15th centuries, depicting stories based on the Bible.
The play was performed by guilds on wagons or large platforms, traveling from town to town, entertaining audiences with a didactic message.
The Wakefield Cycle, containing The Second Shepherds' Play, is one of four English mystery cycles, alongside Chester, Coventry, and York.