Morality, Miracle and Mystery plays and Interludes

Miracle and Mystery play

From the liturgical, drama evolved to Miracle and Mystery play.
In France, Miracle used to represent the life of the saints.
Mystery used to represent any scene taken from the scripture.
Meanwhile in England, there was no distinction between this two. The term Miracle play was used to represent any story taken from the scripture or the bible and the life of the saints.
The earliest recorded Miracle play in England was “Ludus Santa de Katherina”, which performed in Dunstable around 11110.
It was not known who wrote the original play, but the first version was prepared by the French school teacher, Geoffrey from St. Albans.
The plays were given in Latin or French.
The Miracle play attracted so many people and increased its popularity.
The plays were before given inside the church began to move to the porch then to the churchyards.
But when the plays began interfere the church services and had become too elaborate, the scandalized priest forbade the play in the church.
By the thirteenth century, the Miracle play began move outside the church.
After the Miracle play move outside the church, the secular organization or town guilds began to take responsibility in its production.
Few changes were made during this period. By the fourteenth and fifteenth century, the plays were given in vernacular pr local language.
The actors were no longer clergy but the amateur actors which trained and selected carefully.
The plays were given in the series of mansion in the town square.
The plays were performed on moving platform called pageants and the act area called pletea.
The stage were divide into three parts; hell, earth and heaven.
Hell in the left side, earth in the centre and heaven in the right side.
Usually the stages were identified by certain props. For instance, the head of dragon with red jaws or monstrous mouth with fire breathing represent hell where the devil characters will be dragged to the hell.
The idea of salvation and damnation which later adopted in Dr. Faustus was inherited from this period.
The costumes were distinguish in three realms; heaven, earth and hell.
The heavenly characters such as God, angels, saints or certain Biblical character wore the church garments with certain accessories.
The earthly characters wore the contemporary medieval garment appropriate to their rank. Meanwhile, for devil character wore black garments with wings, animals claws, beaks, horns or tails.
On 1311, the Council of Vienne revived the feat of Corpus Christi. This festival held in June every year and last for three or four days, sometimes extend to six days.
The Miracle plays were presented in all large town city in England. It was arranged to exhibit the whole story from creation to the Day of Judgment in a cycle.
There were four famous cycle existed in England. The York with 48 plays, the Chester with 25 plays, the Wakefield with 32 plays and the Coventry with 42 plays.
During this religious period drama were written according to the Bible and no change was tolerated.
This religious performances lasted till the sixteenth century.

Morality play

The later development of drama was Morality play.
it is a dramatization of personified abstraction generally vice against virtue.
In these plays, the character were allegorical personified such as death, sin, good and bad angel, seven deadly sins, etc.
The purpose of this drama was didactic, to give moral lesson to the audience.
The morality plays generally ended with the virtue win against the evil.
This play was marked by the introduction of personage called “vice”, who was mischievous, comic and humorous character.
Vice was the predecessor of the modern clown or jester.
The examples of morality plays are “Everyman” and “The Castle of Perseverance”.

Interlude

The introduction of Morality play also introduce so called “interlude”. Interlude is the short version of morality play.
Generally interludes were given during break of the scene. It was a short stage entertainment in a sense of humor and was considered as the forerunner of comedies.
The example of interlude was “The Four P’s” by John Heywood which performed around 1497.

English drama

The final stage of the evolution of English drama was the artistic period.
In this period, the purpose of the pay was not to point out a moral but to represent human life as it is.
During this period, English drama was influenced by classical drama.
The first comedy was “Ralph Roister Doister” written by Nicholas Udall on 1556.
The play divided into acts and scenes and wrote in rhyming couplets.
This first comedy had become the model and predecessor of English comedies.
The first tragedy “Gorboduc” was written by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Northon around 1562.
It was written in blank verse and divided into acts and scenes.
After this era, the English drama developed gradually into regular form of drama which flourish during Elizabethan reign and which known till today.

Therefore, English drama gradually develop from the liturgical drama to Miracle and Mystery plays, continuously to Morality and interlude followed by the influence of classical model and finally evolve to the regular drama forms which known till today.

University Wits

The drama before Shakespeare, found its full flowering with the dramatists called the 'University Wits'. These dramatists were well-educated scholars. They wrote in the closing years of the 16’Th century. This name of University Wits was given them because they were nearly all educated at Oxford or Cambridge University. Wit was the synonym for scholar.

All the University Wits have several features in common. They had stormy careers. All of them were actively associated with the theatre. They were usually actors as well as dramatists. They understood the requirements of the stage and felt the pulse of the audience. They often worked in collaboration with each other. Their store material was also common. With these dramatists English drama reached the highest point of glory. In many ways they developed English drama.

Christopher Marlowe was most shining star among the university wits. Others were Lyly, Peele, Greene, Lodge, Nashe and Kyd.

John Lyly (1554 - 1606)

As a dramatist Lyly occupies a peculiar position. He selected classical themes and stories for his plays. He himself was a courtier and wrote for countries. He wrote eight plays in all. They are-Campaspe, Sapho and Phao, Gallathea,The Man in the Moon, Midas, Mother Bombie, Love's Metamorphosis and Woman in the Moon.

Lyly's contribution to English drama is very important. He was a comic playwright. He gave shape to romantic comedy. Suitable blank verse was used in his comedies. He added to drama the qualities of delicacy, grace, charm and subtlety. He is well known as originator of Euphustic style of prose writing.

George Peele (1556 - 1596)

Peele was one of the greatest University Wits. His work has great variety. His The Old Wives Tales is the first English play of dramatic criticism. His important plays are Arraignment of Pairs, The Battle of Alcazar, The Famous Chronicle of King Edward the first, The Love of King David and Fair Bathsheba and The Old Wives Tales. The list shows Peele's versatility as a dramatist. In his plays we notice a high level of poetic attainment. As a humorist he showed the way to Shakespeare. He widened the range of English dramas.

Robert Greene 1558 - 1592)

Like Lyly, Greene was a playwright and novelist in one. He attained high excellence in both arts. His best plays are-The Comical History of Alphonsus, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay and James IV. He was a master of his craft in the art of plotting. With him the love story became central in the art of drama. He contributed much to the development of romantic comedy.

Thomas Lodge ( 1558 - 1625) and Thomas Nashe( 1567 - 1601)

The dramatic works of these authors are almost negligible. Lodge's 'The Wounds of Civil War' contains hardly anything that is new. He gave practically nothing to the theatre. He wrote poems, novels and plays. Nashe was a pamphleteer and storywriter. He tried his hand at drama also.

Thomas Kyd (1558 - 1594)

The English tragedy moves on its way with Kyd. He adhered to the Senecan school. It is he who popularised the blood and thunder element in drama. His 'The Spanish Tragedy' occupies and important place. It is a landmark in English tragedy. It is a well-constructed play. Kyd brought the revenge theme to the stage.

Christopher Marlowe ( 1564 - 1593)

Marlowe was the central sun of the University Wits. He is the true founder of the popular English drama. His contribution to the English tragedy is very vital. His main works are Tamburlaine, Dr. Faustus, Edward II, The Jew of Malta and The Tragedy of Dido. With Marlowe the English drama reached the highest point of its glory. He raised the subject matter of drama to a higher level. He gave life and reality to his characters. He made the blank verse smoother and gave unity to drama. Thus in many ways, he showed a path to Shakespeare.

Thus the University Wits contributed much to the English drama. They prepared the ground for drama. In the spheres of comedy and tragedy they made notable contribution and prepared the way for Shakespeare.

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