Unit I Drama (Liturgical Drama, Religious Plays, Famous Cycle Plays & MCQs)

 

Liturgical Drama (10th to 14th Century)

Definition & Origin

·         Liturgical Drama refers to religious plays performed as part of the Christian liturgy (public worship) in the medieval Church, primarily between the 10th and 14th centuries.

·         Originated in Latin Church rituals, especially during important Christian feasts like Easter and Christmas.

·         Purpose: To teach Christian doctrine to an illiterate populace through dramatized biblical events.

 Development of Liturgical Drama

1.      Early Stages (10th Century):

o    Performed inside churches.

o    Used Latin and musical chants.

o    Example: Quem Quaeritis ("Whom do you seek?") trope performed at Easter—considered the first liturgical play.

2.      Later Development (11th–12th Century):

o    Expanded from brief dialogues to elaborate dramas.

o    Incorporated costumes and symbolic actions.

o    Gradually moved outside the church due to increasing complexity and space needs.

3.      Transition to Vernacular Drama (13th–14th Century):

o    Language shifted from Latin to vernaculars (Middle English, French, etc.).

o    Lay performers and guilds took over, making it more theatrical and popular.

o    Paved the way for Mystery and Miracle plays.

Types of Religious Drama

1. Mystery Plays

·         Definition: Dramatizations of biblical stories, from Creation to the Last Judgment.

·         "Mystery" from Latin ministerium meaning “occupation”—linked to guilds who sponsored the plays.

·         Structure: Often performed as cycles during festivals like Corpus Christi.

·         Language: Vernacular, accessible to common people.

·         Purpose: Didactic and devotional; to present salvation history.

2. Miracle Plays

·         Focus on lives of saints and miraculous events.

·         Often featured martyrdoms, healing, or interventions by saints.

·         Example: The Play of St. Nicholas (by Hilarius), and The Conversion of Saint Paul.

·         Less structured than mystery plays but equally popular.

Famous English Cycle Plays

Liturgical drama flourished into Cycle Plays—a series of plays performed sequentially to cover biblical history. These were typically produced by craft guilds in medieval towns.

1. York Cycle

·         Comprises 48 plays (surviving manuscript).

·         Dates from 14th–15th century.

·         Performed in York, during Corpus Christi festival.

·         Structure: Each play handled by a different guild.

·         Notable Plays:

o    The Fall of Lucifer

o    The Nativity

o    The Crucifixion

o    The Last Judgment

·         Tone: Reverent, theological, often complex in structure.

2. Wakefield Cycle (Towneley Plays)

·         Associated with Wakefield, Yorkshire.

·         Includes 32 plays, many of them sophisticated and vivid.

·         Known for the "Wakefield Master", an anonymous playwright known for:

o    Humor, satire, and verse experimentation.

o    Use of "Wakefield Stanza" (rhymed 13-line stanza: aaabababcdddc).

·         Notable Plays:

o    The Second Shepherds’ Play (a masterpiece of medieval drama blending comedy with Nativity theme).

o    Cain and Abel

3. Chester Cycle

·         Comprises 24 plays.

·         Dates from late 14th to early 15th century.

·         Performed in Chester during Corpus Christi.

·         Known for didactic tone and moral clarity.

·         Notable Plays:

o    The Fall of Man

o    Noah's Flood

o    The Harrowing of Hell

·         Focus on moral instruction and Christian doctrine.

4. Coventry Cycle

·         Famous for The Shearmen and Tailors’ Play.

·         Contains notable Nativity and Passion scenes.

·         Often studied alongside other cycles for comparative purposes.

Themes and Features

Feature	Description
Religious Didacticism	Taught Bible stories and Christian values to the common people.
Use of Vernacular	Shifted from Latin to English/French, increasing accessibility.
Guild Sponsorship	Each craft guild performed plays related to their profession (e.g., Shipwrights performed Noah's Ark).
Pageant Wagons	Movable stages used to present plays at multiple locations in the town.
Allegorical Elements	Combined biblical events with moral lessons; characters often represented abstract virtues or vices.
Combination of Sacred & Secular	Infused with comic interludes, local color, and folk traditions.

Significance of Liturgical and Cycle Drama in English Literature

·         Foundation of English Drama: Precursor to morality plays (like Everyman) and later Elizabethan drama (like Shakespeare).

·         Social and Theological Record: Offers insight into medieval worldview, cosmology, and cultural values.

·         Artistic Innovation: Developed early forms of plot structure, characterization, and staging.

·         UGC NET Perspective: Frequently appears under Middle English Literature, Drama, Theatre History, and Comparative Literature topics.

Important UGC NET Pointers

·         Know the difference between Mystery, Miracle, and Morality plays.

·         Recognize specific plays and their associated cycles.

·         Understand how guilds, vernacular use, and religious festivals shaped medieval drama.

·         Be aware of the Wakefield Master and his literary contributions.

·         Remember that Cycle Plays aimed to educate and entertain simultaneously.

Multiple Choice Questions

 Section A: Liturgical Drama (10 MCQs)

1. Liturgical drama originated in which setting?
   A. Marketplace
   B. Church
   C. Public square
   D. Royal court
   Answer: B. Church
2. The earliest form of liturgical drama was performed in which language?
   A. French
   B. German
   C. Latin
   D. English
   Answer: C. Latin
3. Which of the following is a characteristic of liturgical drama?
   A. Secular themes
   B. Performed in vernacular
   C. Use of elaborate scenery
   D. Based on biblical stories and liturgy
   Answer: D. Based on biblical stories and liturgy
4. The phrase "Quem Quaeritis" is associated with which genre?
   A. Morality play
   B. Miracle play
   C. Liturgical drama
   D. Mystery play
   Answer: C. Liturgical drama
5. What does "Quem Quaeritis" mean?
   A. What is truth?
   B. Whom do you seek?
   C. Who is the Lord?
   D. Where are you going?
   Answer: B. Whom do you seek?
6. Which festival originally featured the performance of early liturgical drama?
   A. Christmas
   B. Easter
   C. Pentecost
   D. Lent
   Answer: B. Easter
7. What was the main purpose of liturgical drama in the Middle Ages?
   A. Entertainment
   B. Political commentary
   C. Religious instruction
   D. Cultural satire
   Answer: C. Religious instruction
8. Which of the following best describes the movement of liturgical drama out of the church?
   A. Clerical reform
   B. Vernacularization and secularization
   C. Introduction of morality plays
   D. Loss of ecclesiastical control
   Answer: B. Vernacularization and secularization
9. Which of the following is NOT a feature of liturgical drama?
   A. Sung dialogues
   B. Clergy as performers
   C. Performed during Mass
   D. Use of printed scripts
   Answer: D. Use of printed scripts
10. Liturgical drama gradually evolved into which type of plays?
    A. Roman comedies
    B. Miracle and Mystery plays
    C. Interludes
    D. Tragedies
    Answer: B. Miracle and Mystery plays

 Section B: Types of Religious Drama (8 MCQs)

11. Which of the following plays focuses on the lives and miracles of saints?
    A. Mystery plays
    B. Miracle plays
    C. Morality plays
    D. Interludes
    Answer: B. Miracle plays
12. Which religious plays dramatize biblical stories from the Creation to the Last Judgment?
    A. Mystery plays
    B. Miracle plays
    C. Morality plays
    D. Interludes
    Answer: A. Mystery plays
13. Morality plays differ from mystery plays in that they—
    A. Use biblical characters only
    B. Employ allegorical figures
    C. Are written in Latin
    D. Are acted by priests
    Answer: B. Employ allegorical figures
14. Who is a common central character in morality plays?
    A. Everyman
    B. Judas
    C. Abraham
    D. Beowulf
    Answer: A. Everyman
15. Which of the following is NOT a feature of morality plays?
    A. Characters represent virtues and vices
    B. Didactic message
    C. Based on saints’ lives
    D. Personification of abstract ideas
    Answer: C. Based on saints’ lives
16. The vice character is mostly associated with—
    A. Miracle plays
    B. Mystery plays
    C. Morality plays
    D. Farce
    Answer: C. Morality plays
17. Which type of religious drama is usually considered the earliest in the English tradition?
    A. Mystery
    B. Morality
    C. Miracle
    D. Liturgical
    Answer: D. Liturgical
18. The focus of morality plays is mainly on—
    A. Religious ceremonies
    B. Biblical episodes
    C. Individual moral journey
    D. Lives of martyrs
    Answer: C. Individual moral journey

 Section C: Famous Cycle Plays (6 MCQs)

19. Which of the following is a well-known cycle of mystery plays in England?
    A. Chester Cycle
    B. Marlowe Cycle
    C. Shakespeare Cycle
    D. Canterbury Cycle
    Answer: A. Chester Cycle
20. The Wakefield Cycle is also known for—
    A. The Harrowing of Hell
    B. The Second Shepherds’ Play
    C. The Passion Play
    D. The Resurrection of Lazarus
    Answer: B. The Second Shepherds’ Play
21. How many cycles of mystery plays are known to have existed in England?
    A. 2
    B. 3
    C. 4
    D. 5
    Answer: C. 4 (York, Chester, Wakefield, and N-Town)
22. The York Cycle contains how many pageants?
    A. 24
    B. 48
    C. 56
    D. 72
    Answer: B. 48
23. The cycle plays were performed during which festival?
    A. Lent
    B. Easter
    C. Corpus Christi
    D. Christmas
    Answer: C. Corpus Christi
24. What is the major theme of most cycle plays?
    A. Chivalric romance
    B. Pagan rituals
    C. Salvation history from Creation to Last Judgment
    D. Satirical humour
    Answer: C. Salvation history from Creation to Last Judgment

 Section D: Previous Year UGC-NET MCQs (4 MCQs)

25. UGC NET (June 2016)
    Which one of the following plays is an example of a mystery play?
    A. Everyman
    B. The Second Shepherds’ Play
    C. The Castle of Perseverance
    D. Doctor Faustus
    Answer: B. The Second Shepherds’ Play
26. UGC NET (December 2018)
    Which of the following is NOT a medieval religious drama?
    A. Morality Play
    B. Mystery Play
    C. Interlude
    D. Miracle Play
    Answer: C. Interlude
27. UGC NET (June 2019)
    The character “Everyman” is an example of which of the following?
    A. Allegorical figure
    B. Biblical prophet
    C. Martyr
    D. Angelic being
    Answer: A. Allegorical figure
28. UGC NET (June 2023)
    The York and Chester Cycles are related to—
    A. Secular Renaissance drama
    B. Elizabethan revenge tragedy
    C. Liturgical calendar
    D. Mystery plays
    Answer: D. Mystery plays