The Crucifixion of Christ From York, Essay Example

Abstract

The distinguishing characteristics of medieval drama are mainly its Christian content and its instructive purpose. This paper features two pieces of drama, namely: The Crucifixion of Christ from York and Mr. S’s Gammer Gurtons Needle. These two plays are rich pieces of English theatre and literature that were performed in the middle and Renaissance eras respectively. This paper posits to illustrate how each epitomizes the age which produced it.

Introduction

This paper posits to illustrate how two pieces of drama ‘The Crucifixion of Christ from York’ and ‘Mr. S’s Gammer Gurtons Needle’ epitomizes the age which produced it. These two plays are rich pieces of English theatre and literature that were performed in the Middle and Renaissance eras respectively.

The Crucifixion of Christ from York

Medieval drama had its origins in Easter and Christmas church shows that outgrew the nave and were no longer performed inside the churches. Miracle plays probably borrowed the name from originally being adaptations in drama of the saints’ miracles. The plays become depictions of biblical stories between the 14^th and 15^th centuries, and were performed by the guilds, on Corpus Christi Day (Milling, 2004).  The Crucifixion created by the so-called York Realist, has typically northern linguistic and spelling features. This play was performed in at a time that the target audience in York were quite conversant familiar with the faith that was the root of several wars in the crusades, and the inspiring factor behind the expanding eastern Ottoman Empire. The audiences may have probably linked the faith with evil, and more explicitly, the work of the devil. Therefore, when one of the soldiers cites the name of Mohamed, a prophet that at the time was viewed as evil, the author demonstrates implicitly how the devil influenced on the soldiers. The Middle Ages, also called the Medieval Ages,  when this play was performed is defined as an era in the history of Western Europe that followed the degeneration of the West Roman Empire in the 4^th  and 5^th  century A.D and continued into the 15^th  century. This was a time when the kings, as well as the Christian Church had absolute power and authority (Cambridge dictionaries online, 2011).  The Church grew to be one of the most dominant medieval institutions. It controlled book publication and law making. Much of Europe’s architecture and art in the Middle Ages bears a direct link to the Christian church.  Education was usually accomplished under the patronage of the Church. Grammar, logic, rhetoric, astronomy, Latin, mathematics, and philosophy formed the foundation of a majority of curriculums. The play epitomizes the middle ages in its dramatization of violence as well as the influence of Christianity. This was an era in history when war and violence were the order of the day. The Middle Ages created the base for the Renaissance. The influence of the church in society was also at its peak as highlighted earlier in the paper.

‘Mr. S’s Gammer Gurtons Needle’

The author of this play is believed to be William Stevenson. The play was most likely initially performed during Edward VI brief reign in 1533.The play can be described as a raucous, disorderly circus of a play. The play has typically rural Southern-England linguistic and spelling features. The nature of the play is very offensive, and regularly scatological.  The play is also a fine piece of comedy. The Renaissance, the era in which this comedy was performed, may be defined as the period of fresh growth of awareness and activity in relation to ideas, literature, and art in Europe, particularly northern Italy, in the between the 14^th and 16^th  centuries. It was an era of artistic as well as cultural accomplishment in Europe. It was characterized by several distinctive ideals in relation to life, particularly, individualism, secularism, materialism, and humanism. This era is regarded as a golden era in the history of Europe (Cambridge dictionaries online, 2011).  It is also referred to as the era of ‘rebirth of learning’ (Santee, 2010).

The renaissance had emphasis on an inquisitive attitude, reason, experimentation, and independent inquiry. This is in sharp contrast with the Middle ages whereby the main emphasis was on faith, tradition, and authority. As is evident in ‘Mr. S’s Gammer Gurtons Needle’ the renaissance glorified personalities and drew pleasure in worldliness. During the renaissance, people viewed life as valuable for its own sake. Focus was mainly on secular society in contrast to Middle Ages obsession with the Church and spiritual affairs.

References

Cambridge dictionaries online, (2011).  http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/the-middle-ages

Milling, J., (2004).  The Cambridge History of British Theater. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.

Santee, D. D., (2010). English Language Literature – LETRAS,  UFMS 2010 http://www.dle.ufms.br/daniel/literature/17- Elizabethan _Age_III.pdf