Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

“Travail No Time”: Divinity Conveying Morals in the Cycle Plays

In this critical analysis, I examine the different roles that Jesus and God play in the Corpus Christi plays and how they convey the play’s messages to indirectly push audiences into villainous roles. I wanted to look at this subject to understand how Divine characters are portrayed differently than every other character. I examine several articles from other medieval drama analysts and also look at audience engagement when watching the plays. I then examine The York Play of the Crucifixion for the portrayal of Jesus in that play and The Chester Play of Noah to look at how God’s dialogue is written. I conclude that God is the powerful Judge, consistently shown showcasing Divine power and wrath. Jesus is portrayed as the mediator between God and sinners, advocating for their salvation and begging sinners to repent. I use Woolf’s concept of the “Christ-knight” archetype to show how Jesus is portrayed as the penultimate example of holiness and goodness, saving sinners from the devil against whom they are so helpless. As shown in The York Play of the Crucifixion and examples from Crane’s article on The York Temptation Play, the humor geared towards the audience gets them to sympathize with the villains. The Holy characters triumph in the end, leaving viewers feeling like they are villains if they do not repent and accept salvation. The playwrights imply that Jesus’ sacrifice will be for nothing if sinners do not accept salvation, invalidating and mocking His exemplary deed.