Miranda
Cloyd
EL207
Sugano
10.20.2013
The
“Wakefield Mysteries” are a series of scenes written back in medieval times and
adapted for musical theater. The musical casts a small group of actors who play
a wide variety of parts. The production starts out depicting creation and Adam
and Eve’s time in the Garden of Eden. The musical progresses through the Old
Testament in this way, telling the stories in a simplistic and comical manner.
Songs and dances are integrated for entertainment and illustrative purposes.
The
first story following the Fall is when Cain kills his brother Abel. Both
brothers are presented as simple, rustic characters. They are presented in an
interesting mocking manner, but as with the rest of the musical, the point of
the story is expressed. The production goes on to tell the story of Abraham
preparing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, Noah and the ark, Moses freeing his
people, and many other stories all leading up to the time when the angels came
to announce Jesus’ birth to the lowly shepherds.
I
was anxious to see how things would be portrayed in relation to the piece we
read, “The Second Shepherd’s Play.” It is very interesting that this was how
people told the story of the Bible back in medieval times since so few people
were literate. Preservation of traditions and stories came mostly through
orally passing down the tales through generations. The way the Bible stories
were portrayed seemed a little childish and simplistic, but maybe they were
helpful at the time they were told. It makes me wonder how much has been lost
or changed in translation from oral and theatrical productions to written
stories. While it seems to me like there could be some consequences to only
passing things down verbally, I think there could be some benefits as well. The
passion and meaning behind the stories could be much better portrayed through
theater and the telling of stories. The inflections and body language could be
much more effective in these ways.
I think it's really important to remember that these plays were designed for illiterate audiences. It is interesting to see the difference between the play on paper and the play in the flesh. At times, I thought the play was talking down to the audience, and I had to remind myself that it was designed to educate people about the bible in an entertaining way. I am not strongly religious, so many of the stories were barely familiar to me. In a way, I suppose I am the target audience for these kinds of plays. I have never read the bible, which in the Middle Ages would make me illiterate. Interesting to think.
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