The Second Shepherd's Play

Anachronism is a form of poetic license that refers to the placing of an event, person, or thing outside of its historical context. In The Second Shepherds’ Play, Mak and the shepherds frequently use anachronistic language–particularly to swear–that derives from the story of Christ in the New Testament, even though the play’s action is supposed to take place around the time of Christ’s birth. For instance, Dave’s first speech opens with the line, “Christ bless me quickly” (4).

Characters like Col and Mak use expressions that refer to the crucifixion, such as “By the rood!” (By the Cross!) and “Christ’s Cross give me speed!” (9). The characters also occasionally swear by “our Lady,” a phrase that refers to the Virgin Mary (who has not yet given birth to the Christ-Child and became a sacred figure in Christianity). Other examples of anachronisms include the garbled Latin phrases that Mak and the shepherds use, such as “Resurrex a mortruis!”and “Judas carnas dominus!” (12); these phrases refer to episodes from Christ’s life as told in the Gospels and derive from the Latin scriptures and liturgy used in medieval churches. Other anachronisms include references to Christian saints like Saint Nicholas, Saint James, Saint Stephen, and St. Thomas of Kent, all of whom were born centuries after the birth of Christ. The use of anachronisms in the play primarily generates humor by conflating the Biblical story with Christian, medieval England and mixing profanity with serious religious subjects. Nonetheless, they also serve to foreshadow the coming of the Christ-Child to save humanity from its sins.