The Second Shepherds' Play has two parallel stories. What are the stories, and why do these stories complement each other?...

The Second Shepherds’ Play is a mystery play (so called because they dealt with the spiritual mysteries of Christ’s birth and death) and gains its name because in the Wakefield Cycle, of which it is a part, it immediately follows another play about the shepherds. In fact, Robinson (1991) hypothesizes that this play is actually a revision of the first and not a separate play at all.

The Second Shepherds’ Play contains two stories: the first is that of the shepherds in the field watching their sheep when they are visited by Mak, a ne'er-do-well and thief who steals a sheep and takes it to his wife Gill. Gill hides the sheep wrapped in a blanket in the cradle in an attempt to fool the shepherds who come looking for it into believing it is her newborn child. Mak and Gill are found out and punished. The second story follows immediately on the heels of the first and is the familiar Biblical story of the angel informing the shepherds of the Christ-child’s birth and their subsequent visit to the manger. The two stories are actually parallel stories, with the first being a parody of the second where the shepherds, seeking the stolen sheep, end up visiting a ‘mother’ and ‘father’ whose ‘newborn child’ is a lamb, a title often associated with Christ in relationship to his sacrifice. They lament their shortsightedness in not bringing him gifts, and then discover the ‘baby’ is actually the stolen sheep. They punish Mak by wrapping him in canvas and throwing him around. This is perhaps a reference to Christ’s death and resurrection. After they leave Mak’s home, the Biblical story picks up: the angel tells them of Jesus’s birth, they gather gifts and go visit and praise him.

Early in the play, the shepherds’ soliloquies show us several aspects of life as a medieval shepherd, including poverty, oppression at the hands of the rich, and poor weather that makes their jobs difficult. The first shepherd tells us how cold the weather is and how ill-suited for it his clothes are. He’s also apparently just woken from dozing off and has paid the price in lack of circulation in his extremities:

Lord, but this weather is cold! And I am ill wrapped.

A am nearly a dolt, so long have I napped.

My legs they fold, my fingers are chapped. (lines 1-3)

He also tells us that their farms have gone fallow and they are cheated and overtaxed by the rich (lines 4-16). The second shepherd also laments the bad weather (lines 17-21) and tells of the hardships poor married men deal with (lines 22-46). The third shepherd also complains of the weather and the hardships of their profession:

These floods they so drown,

Both in fields and in town,

And bear all things down,

And that is a wonder.

We that walk in the nights our cattle to keep,

        We see fearful sights when other men sleep. (lines 64-69)

He also sheds light on how they are treated by their ‘masters’:

Such servants as I who work till we sweat

Eat our bread quite dry and that makes me fret;

We are often weak and weary when our masters sleep yet;

Late home and dreary, in food and drink we get

Less than our due.

Both our dame and our sire,

When we run in the mire

They dock us of our hire

And pay us late too. (lines 81-89)

They are overworked, underfed, and regularly cheated out of honest work and pay.

 But the purpose of these mystery plays was not to reveal the hardships of daily living to their audiences; in fact, their audiences were usually people of the same ilk as the characters in the plays, so they understood those hardships. Instead, the purpose was to teach a mostly illiterate congregation Biblical stories and principles. The Second Shepherds’ Play is meant to teach of the dual nature of life, one here on earth and one in the spiritual realm. This play was most likely performed on two stages, one that contained the set for the field and Mak’s home and one that contained the set for the Christ-child’s nativity. This dual set would have reinforced this message. There are smaller lessons contained in the play, as well. For instance, stealing a sheep was a hanging offense, but the other shepherds show Mak grace by not turning him in. He is, in essence, forgiven. This parallels the reason the Christ-child comes: to offer grace for our wrongdoings, to forgive. And it is the ultimate message the audience is meant to take away with them.

One last thing that should be considered here is Mak’s role in the play (Which is complex and would take much more discussion than we have time for here). He is supposed to be the villain in the first part of the play. He fools the shepherds, steals their sheep, and lies about it. So why do we end up sympathizing with him? There are two main reasons. The first is that Mak is a poor man and literally starving. He steals the sheep so that he and his family can eat. We see that here:

That I am true as steel all men know,

But a sickness I feel has brought me so low,

My belly lacks a meal, it's in a sad state. (lines 133-35)

He tells us that he is normally “true,” but that hunger and illness have brought him to a place where he has to steal to survive. This is not a game or a farce but a critical situation of survival. He reinforces this when he says,

Therefore Full sore am I and ill,

If I stand stone-still.

I've ate not a needle

This month and more. (lines 137-41)

He also tells us his wife is at home with a brood of children, who are all likely in the same state. It is hard to desire punishment for a man trying to provide for his family. Second, Mak represents Everyman, and as such, it is easy for us to identify with his character. Because we can see ourselves acting the same way in the same situation, it is easy for us to forgive his behavior.