The Growth of English Drama | Page 7

swift consequence of the 'Fall', another play on 'Cain and Abel'; the further story of the 'Flood' would represent the spread of wickedness over the earth; in fact, the possible development could be bounded only by the wide limits of the entire Bible, and, of more immediate influence, by the restrictions of time. That this extension of theme was not checked until these latter limits had been reached may be judged from the fact that in one place it was customary to start the play between four or five o'clock in the morning, acting it scene after scene until daylight failed. But this was when the Corpus Christi festival had become the chief dramatic season, combining in its performances the already lengthy series associated respectively with Christmas and Easter. Between the 'Massacre of the Innocents' and the 'Betrayal' (the point at which the Easter play usually started) a few connecting scenes were introduced, after which the Corpus Christi play could fairly claim to be a complete story of 'The Fall and Redemption of Man'. Admittedly of crude literary form, yet full of reverence and moral teaching, and with powers of pathos and satire above the ordinary, it became one single play, the sublimest of all dramas. To regard it as a collection of separate small plays is a fatal mistake--fatal both to our understanding of the single scenes and to our comprehension of the whole.
Yet the space at our disposal forbids our dealing here with every scene of any given play (or cycle, as a complete series is commonly called). The most that can be done is to give a list of the subjects of the scenes, and specimens of the treatment of a selected few. This list, however, should not be glanced through lightly and rapidly. The title of each scene should be paused over and the details associated with the title recalled. In no other way can the reader hope to comprehend the play in its fullness.
Here are the scenes of the Coventry Play.
1. The Creation. 2. The Fall of Man. 3. Cain and Abel. 4. Noah's Flood. 5. Abraham's Sacrifice. 6. Moses and the Two Tables. 7. The Prophets. 8. The Barrenness of Anna. 9. Mary in the Temple. 10. Mary's Betrothment. 11. The Salutation and Conception. 12. Joseph's Return. 13. The Visit to Elizabeth. 14. The Trial of Joseph and Mary. 15. The Birth of Christ. 16. The Adoration of the Shepherds. 17. The Adoration of the Magi. 18. The Purification. 19. The Slaughter of the Innocents. 20. Christ Disputing in the Temple. 21. The Baptism of Christ. 22. The Temptation. 23. The Woman taken in Adultery. 24. Lazarus. 25. The Council of the Jews. 26. The Entry into Jerusalem. 27. The Last Supper. 28. The Betraying of Christ. 29. King Herod. 30. The Trial of Christ. 31. Pilate's Wife's Dream. 32. The Condemnation and Crucifixion of Christ. 33. The Descent into Hell. 34. The Burial of Christ. 35. The Resurrection. 36. The Three Maries. 37. Christ Appearing to Mary. 38. The Pilgrim of Emaus. 39. The Ascension. 40. The Descent of the Holy Ghost. 41. The Assumption of the Virgin. 42. Doomsday.
One dominant characteristic is observed by every student of the original play, namely, the maintenance of a lofty elevation of tone wherever the sacredness of the subject demands it. The simple dramatic freedom of that day brought God and Heaven upon the stage, and exhibited Jesus in every circumstance of his life and death; yet on no occasion does the play descend from the high standard of reverence which such a subject demanded, or derogate from the dignity of the celestial Father and Son. That this was partly due to the Bible will be admitted at once. But there is great credit due to the writer (or writers) who could keep so true a sense of proportion that in scenes even of coarse derision, almost bordering on buffoonery, the central figure remained unsoiled and unaffected by his surroundings. A writer less filled with the religious sense must have been strongly tempted to descend to biting dialogue, in which his hero should silence his adversaries by superiority in the use of their own weapon. A truer instinct warned our author that any such scene must immediately tend to a lowering of character. He refused, and from his pen is sent forth a Man whose conduct and speech are unassailably above earthly taint, who is, amongst men, Divine.
Observe the impressive note struck in the opening verse. God stands amidst his angels, prepared to exercise his sovereign wisdom in the work of creation.
My name is knowyn, God and kynge, My werk for to make now wyl I wende[3], In myself restyth my reynenge, It hath no gynnyng ne non ende; And alle that evyr xal have beynge[4],