2.5 stars
First Sentence: I, God, that all the world have wrought
Heaven and Earth, and all of nought,
I see my people, in deed and thought,
Are foully set in sin.
Thoughts: Miracle and morality plays were performed at religious festivals in England before Shakespeare. This is what he was watching when he was a little boy and [INSERT FAVORITE PLAY HERE] was just a twinkle in his eye. They were also Catholic. Dangerously Catholic. Which is most likely why the secular theater world exploded during Elizabeth I’s reign. They had to have Protestant plays to align with the new state religion. And that’s why state religions are stupid.
The plays in this collection are:
Noah’s Flood: It’s exactly what it says on the box: a theatrical version of the great flood of Genesis. Noah (or Noe depending on how strict a speller you are) builds the ark, gathers all the animals, and loads them on the ship with his family. Except for his wife. The major conflict in this play is Mrs. Noah refusing to leave her friends until her husband drags her on the ark seconds before rain starts to fall. She’s the typical shrew wife from other medieval plays, stories, and modern-day sitcoms. It’s an old trope that was never funny.
The Second Shepherd’s Play: This play tells the story of what the shepherds were up to before they were called over to Christ’s manger. Most of the story centers around Mak the Sheep-Stealer living up to his name. He steals a lamb and brings it home. When the shepherds show up, Mak’s wife Gill wraps up the lamb and hides it in the cradle. It’s an early use of foreshadowing from the days before subtlety was invented.
Everyman: The classic play the Everyman’s Library series was named after. All of the characters are allegories: Death, Good Works, Kindred, Beauty, Discretion, and, of course, Everyman. Death comes to Everyman and tells him that he’s going to get him one day. Maybe today. Maybe tomorrow. Death won’t tell. Everyman panics and starts gathering everything he has to see how he can avoid going to Hell. Fellowship, Cousin, and Kindred won’t help. Goods laughs in his face. Good Works is too weak to help. Then Knowledge steps in to guide Everyman on the way to salvation. Along the way Good Works gets its strength back and helps Everyman to Heaven. It’s Catholic theology in a nutshell.
Hickscorner: This is the only play in the collection I had never read or even heard of before. It’s about another collection of allegories discussing Catholic theology. On the good side we have Pity, Contemplation and Perseverance. Opposing them is Imagination, Free Will, and Hickscorner. What the heck is a hickscorner, you ask? “A libertine scoffer at religions and the religious.” This is apparently the only time it was ever used. It’s also pretty bawdy which is probably why it usually isn’t included in the School Editions of English medieval plays. It’s also less subtle than Everyman, which is a feat that must be seen to be believed.
The Eclectic Reviewer 