The Second Shepherds' Play is the first work we've seen containing both a plot and a comic subplot. The story of the shepherds, Mak and Gill are a comic parallel to an important event in Christianity. Discuss the parallels between the plot and sub-plot. (To get you started, both plots contain a mother figure.)
The first plot within the play is a non-biblical story about a thief, Mak, who steals a sheep from three shepherds Gill, Daw, and Coll. Mak and his wife, Gill, attempt to deceive the shepherds by pretending the sheep is their newborn baby in a cradle. The shepherds are fooled at first but later discover the truth when Coll lifts the blanket covering the "baby". "What the devil is this? He has a long snout! (p.429 lines 843-844). The shepherd’s then throw and wrap Mak into a blanket out of punishment and leave.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, the scene switches to the biblical story of the three shepherds being told of the birth of Christ by an angel. They then follow the traditional plot where they go to Bethlehem, where they offer gifts to the baby Jesus and praise Mary. The author parallels the disguised sheep to the newly born baby Jesus, often referred to as a Lamb. Mak and his wife represent the comical versions of Joseph and the Virgin Mary.
In the Second Shepherd’s play, it presents two stories: a plot and a comic subplot, which similarly connects and relates to one another. Starting off, the plot opens up with three shepherds named Coll, Gib, and Daw. They all separately meet up together with a surprise appearance from Mak, who already has a title for being a thief with a bad reputation, “and thou has an ill nose of stealing sheep” (Line 324-325). By lying his way through letting the three shepherds trust him they all fall asleep. Little to the shepherds know, Mak puts a spell on them by drawing a magic circle around the shepherds that has them sleeping until noon to let Mak have enough time to steel a sheep and bring it back to his house “To I have done that I will, Till that it be noon” (Line 401-402). The shepherds wake up and realize they are missing a sheep; they quickly point fingers at Mak and go to his house where he has formed a scheme with his wife Gill involved. She pretends to have a baby which is actually the sheep wrapped up in a blanket. The three shepherds are fooled, and believe her until they realize they baby is actually their missing sheep by unraveling the blanket.
ReplyDeleteThe story now switches to the comic subplot of the scene where the angel announces the birth of baby Jesus to the three shepherds. They travel to Bethlehem, just as they traveled to Mak’s house to give praise to the new baby born. I agree with Feathery Friend when she said, “the sheep connects to baby Jesus, Mak represent the comical versions of Joseph, and Gil represents the Virgin Mary”. I agree with this because the three shepherds found the sheep in a manger/cradle wrapped in a blanket just as baby Jesus was found. Not only have that, but Mak and Gil signified Joseph and Mary because they presented themselves as parents to the pretend baby.