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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT ASSIGNMENT

COVER SHEET

SEMESTER I

NAME OF THE STUDENT: SONAM YADAV

SEMESTER: I EXAM ROLL NO.:23014708010

COLLEGE: Daulat Ram College

PAPER CODE: 120351101

PAPER NAME: Mediaeval Literature

TITLE OF THE PAPER: Shepherds, Sheep and Socio-Economic Shifts : Understanding Rural

Poverty in The Second Shepherd's play

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 14th December 2023

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DECLARATION: I certify that this is my own unaided work, and does not contain

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Full Name: SONAM YADAV

Signature: Sonam
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Shepherds, Sheep and Socio-Economic Shifts : Understanding Rural Poverty in The Second

Shepherd's play

The Second Shepherd's Play, a part of the Wakefield mystery plays, apart from holding a

religious significance offers a vivid portrayal of the socio-economic developments in the

mediaeval English society. Through the characters of the shepherds and Mak, who drives the

action of the play, Wakefield Master realistically portrays the poor economic conditions of the

society as the system of enclosure was introduced. This paper aims to explore the themes of rural

poverty and economic hardships faced by people in the mediaeval times.

The opening of the play reflects the grievances voiced by the fist shepherd, Coll as he laments

the extreme weather conditions and his exploitation at the hands of the landlords which

represents the larger socio-economic inequalities that characterised the mediaeval English

society. The 15th century England witnessed major economic changes following the Black Death

as the Enclosure movement gained momentum. The Enclosure movement was a process through

which the previously common lands used by the farmers for cultivation were taken up and

converted into privately owned lands with limited access. The wealthy landowners gained power

in the society as a result of which, the farmers were reduced to tenants on their own lands. The

Wakefield Master highlights this exploitation using Coll as the mouthpiece-

“Thus they rob us of rest, our Lady them harry!

These men that are Lord-fast, they cause the plow tarry.

That, men say, is for the best: we find it contrary.

Thus are husbandmen oppressed, in point to miscarry In life.” (Master, 2)

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The rise of the feudalistic society laid the foundations of a capitalism which not only had

economic impacts but also witnessed social transformations. Due to the system of enclosures, the

farmers were forced to become shepherds.

The shepherd's act of lamenting and complaining in itself serves a therapeutic purpose as all the

space for meaningful communication after the enclosure system was introduced was denied. The

earlier system of open fields left space for interactions within the community. Contrary to this on

the individually owned lands, there was no possibility of any kind of exchange thus, socially

isolating the shepherds. The harmony of the village system was completely disrupted as several

inhabitants were forced to migrate to other places in search of livelihood and those who

remained had to rely on wage income which further became the cause of their exploitation.

Lisa J. Kiser points out how enclosures led to a serious change in the working conditions of the

shepherds. As farmers they used to work primarily during the summer season to bring the

harvest. However, as shepherds they had to work round the year, taking special care of the sheep

as they are more vulnerable during winters, in order to meet their ends. Therefore, the laments of

the shepherds, and the social isolation underscores the rural poverty in the then society, which is

directed towards the mediaeval English audience who can relate to the exploitative class

hierarchies.

Mak’s character represents the disintegration of communal ties at the face of economic

challenges. In act 1, the song unites the three shepherds however, Mak enters in disguise which

fundamentally sets a distance between the others and him. The fact that Mak has to steal in order
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to make his ends meet highlights the conditions that drove people to resort to extreme measures

due to lack of economic opportunities. When Daw searches Mak’s house for the sheeps, he says,

“I can find no flesh,

Hard nor nesh,

Salt nor fresh,

But two tome platters:

No cattle but this, tame nor wild.” (Master, 16)

These lines clearly indicate that Mak did not even have the basic necessities to feed himself and

his family. Hence, necessity becomes the reason for his theft. As rightly pointed out by Kiser, the

only “source of legal revenue” (Kiser, 346) for Mak’s family is Gill’s spinning.

The wool economy flourished particularly in 13th and 14th century England. It influenced the

politics and economics of the country as it became the main source of the royal revenue and tax.

The Yorkshire wool (which is also the setting of the play) was renowned for its quality. Andrew

Galloway in his work Wool Gathering opines that Mak functions as a mediator and parallels that

of a clothier. In Galloway’s words,

Mak’s active mediating role serves as an illicit coordinator of the shepherds’ and

his own household’s wool production. (Galloway, 57)

Functionally, he serves as a middleman who brings the raw material to the spinner, his

wife-Gill. She is the only working member of the family. Women's contribution in the

economic sphere has always been undermined but in this situation, Gill becomes the sole

hope of some economic source for the family. However, although the wool economy grew,

the spinners were not the main beneficiaries of the profit. The lack of availability of even
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salt, bread and meat at Mak’s house not only underlines lack of economic opportunities

but also the financial struggles of the spinners.

Despite the crippling poverty which robs them of rest and peace, an overflowing generosity is

reflected in the character of Coll, Gyb and Daw. The shepherds decide to offer a gift as a blessing

to Mak’s supposed child, which in reality is the stolen sheep. Even after discovering that Mak is

the one who stole their sheep, the punishment offered to Mak seems a little too generous. On one

hand, they struggle to make their ends meet while on the other, the thought of offering a gift

suggests their moral uprightness which remains uncompromised despite their poor economic

conditions. Moreover, Coll, Gyb and Daw also offer gifts to the Christ child which holds

symbolic significance. The cherries gifted by Coll signify the blood which Christ will spill for

humanity, the bird implies to the dove, a symbol of peace and the ball has been interpreted as a

symbol of the orb which used in mediaeval art to signify power thus, representing Christ’s

influence as a spiritual leader of humanity. The inexpensive and seemingly invaluable gifts of the

shepherds turn out to be symbols of redemption of the entire humanity.

The sheep apart from acquiring a religious symbol also acts as a body desired for economic

interests. The shepherds require it for labour, Mak steals it for its flesh and for Gyl, it can provide

raw material for spinning. In Kiser’s words, “its body is an economic site, not an affective one,

with each of its body parts desired by somebody for some purpose” (Kiser, 355). The sheep on

the cradle has been interpreted as a foreshadowing of Christ’s birth by several scholars. Mak’s

family in that case plays a symbolic role of Joseph’s family with Mak as the husband, Gyl as

Mary and the sheep as Christ. Just as the sheep in the cradle embodies the only economic asset
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left for the shepherds, Christ’s birth also symbolises the path to overcome the oppressive

economic system. This is further underscored with the cheerful note on which the play ends as

compared to the laments of the shepherds at the beginning thus, tracing a trajectory of

transformation.

In essence, The Shepherd's Play highlights the rise of feudalism which laid the foundations of a

capitalistic society. This had not only economic impacts but also social implications as well in

the form of alienation and rise of criminalism embodied by the character of Mak in the play. The

rise of the wool economy further marginalised the already disadvantaged people. The play's end

as opposed to the complaints at the beginning of the play, marked by the birth of Christ

symbolises transformation and hope for societal change.

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WORK CITED

1. Galloway, Andrew. Wool-Gathering. Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England, vol.

32, Rosemont Publishing & Printing Corp DBA Associated University Presses, 2019

2. Kiser, Lisa J. Mak's Heirs: Sheep and Humans in the Pastoral Ecology of the Towneley

First and Second Shepherds' Plays. The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, vol.

108, no. 3, pp. 336-359. University of Illinois Press, July 2009

3. Master, Wakefield. The Second Shepherds' Play. Edited by Alexandra Johnston, The

Broadview Anthology of Medieval Drama, Broadview Press, 2013