24 pages • 48 minutes read
Wakefield MasterThe Second Shepherd's Play
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1500A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
How does The Second Shepherds’ Play use humor to reinforce its serious religious purpose and teach its audiences about Christian values? What is the effect of the juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane in the play?
What is the effect of the anachronistic language in The Second Shepherds’ Play? In what ways does it generate comedy, and in what ways does it foreshadow the coming of the Christ-Child?
Write about the importance of Christian charity in The Second Shepherds’ Play.
How could The Second Shepherds’ Play be described as a work of social criticism? In what ways does it comment on the social conditions of the time and highlight the difficult lives of the hardworking shepherds?
Write about the role of gender in The Second Shepherds’ Play. What does the character of Gill–as well as Gib’s and Mak’s frequent misogynistic remarks–tell us about medieval beliefs about women and gender roles?
