Marxism
The reading for Thursday is in many ways fundamentally opposed to the psychoanalysis we discussed yesterday. Whereas psyschoanalysis believes that the particular attributes of human individuals and cultural practices (including literature) are ultimately determined by the unconscious, Marxism holds that subjectivity and the nature of literary works are ultimately determined by the economic conditions of a particular time and place. One of the main concerns of Marxism is ideology — a broad term that describes the outlook, values, ideas, tacit assumptions, religious beliefs and myths of a particular time and place. Ideology is what seems 'natural' and 'the way things are' but is ultimately a system of representations generated by economic competition. Literature is just one material component that participates in ideology, and can be more or less complicit with it. In short, Marxist criticism ties economic issues to the belief structure of the literary work.
Third blog assignment: Let's start to put together a Marxist critique of The Second Shepherds' Pageant. Given the background you learn from reading the introduction to the Pageant and the chapter on the Corpus Christi Cycle (download from the links to the right), identify (a) one or two passages in the play that seem to be about economic conditions and (b) one or two that seem to be about ideology. What is the play's lesson? Are there any dramatic devices that seem significant?
All you need to do is identify some of these things, and we'll follow up in class to start piecing together a critique. Of course, any comments beyond these requirements are welcome.
Since the play and its language are difficult, it might help to begin your post with a one or two sentence summary. In addition to the chapter on the Corpus Christi Cycle, a helpful summary on the history and genre of the Second Shepherds' Pageant can be found in the Abrams entry on "Miracle Plays, Morality Plays, and Interludes".
If you prefer to work or photocopy from the book, it is Medieval Drama, edited by David Bevington, and the Brooklyn College library call number is PR1260 .M4.
The reading for Thursday is in many ways fundamentally opposed to the psychoanalysis we discussed yesterday. Whereas psyschoanalysis believes that the particular attributes of human individuals and cultural practices (including literature) are ultimately determined by the unconscious, Marxism holds that subjectivity and the nature of literary works are ultimately determined by the economic conditions of a particular time and place. One of the main concerns of Marxism is ideology — a broad term that describes the outlook, values, ideas, tacit assumptions, religious beliefs and myths of a particular time and place. Ideology is what seems 'natural' and 'the way things are' but is ultimately a system of representations generated by economic competition. Literature is just one material component that participates in ideology, and can be more or less complicit with it. In short, Marxist criticism ties economic issues to the belief structure of the literary work.
Third blog assignment: Let's start to put together a Marxist critique of The Second Shepherds' Pageant. Given the background you learn from reading the introduction to the Pageant and the chapter on the Corpus Christi Cycle (download from the links to the right), identify (a) one or two passages in the play that seem to be about economic conditions and (b) one or two that seem to be about ideology. What is the play's lesson? Are there any dramatic devices that seem significant?
All you need to do is identify some of these things, and we'll follow up in class to start piecing together a critique. Of course, any comments beyond these requirements are welcome.
Since the play and its language are difficult, it might help to begin your post with a one or two sentence summary. In addition to the chapter on the Corpus Christi Cycle, a helpful summary on the history and genre of the Second Shepherds' Pageant can be found in the Abrams entry on "Miracle Plays, Morality Plays, and Interludes".
If you prefer to work or photocopy from the book, it is Medieval Drama, edited by David Bevington, and the Brooklyn College library call number is PR1260 .M4.
posted by Jeff at
9:39 AM
3 Comments:
They're PDF files, which means you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open them. You can download it for free from here:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
If you already have Adobe Reader or if your browser can't open them, you can right-click on the link and select "Save target as..." or "Save link as..." to save the file to your computer. On a Mac you would hold down the Ctrl key and click on the link.
Let me know if you still can't get them and I'll email them to you.
Jeff
By
Jeff, at 7/26/2006 6:16 PM
As Allison, Mcaridi, and Donna Marie have pointed out "The Second Shepherds Pageant" begins with a dialogue between two shepherds who bemoan the quality of their existence as well as environmental, physical, and social conditions. As was pointed out in the introduction to the version we read, the main action of the play is a "burlesque of the nativity." This parody is borne in the contrast of the faked birth of a son to Mak and Gill and the birth of Christ which concludes the play.
The comedic premise of Mak and Gill conpiring to cover up Mak's theft of the sheep by pretending it is their newborn child is successful and funny, especially when Mak and Gill swear oaths that they would eat their "child" if they were lying about his birth. The desparate dishonesty of Mak and Gill is ultimately contrasted with and compared to the desparation of Joseph and Mary, and their trials as they sought a place for Mary to deliver the Christ child.
As Mcaridi pointed out the overarching ideological structure and content of the play are religious. It is interesting that there is a certain amount of scepticism expressed towards religion as illustrated in the wolfe-skin quote specifically, and pronouncements of faith generally, which are made without real meaning.
From an ideological stand point it would seem that the church and religion serve to maintain and reinforce the status quo, assumedly by promising a better life after this one. It may be argued that this ideological superstructure emanates from the base of capital (i.e. livestock, land, tax income) in this play, as the characters that we are presented with struggle to survive in a difficult and "falow" environment, and find solace only in their thinly held religious belief. I say thinly, because their religious expression seems to me to be tempered with bitterness and suspicion. Obviously not without cause.
In regard to economics, the opening dialogue of the play is pregnant with suggestions of class conflict and systematic exploitation, (lines 24-36) especially
"He can make puveance
With boste and bragance:
And all is thrugh mantenance
Of men that ar gretter."
and the manor as a control apparatus.(lines 15-18)
"We ar so hamyd,
Fortaxed and ramyd,
We ar mayde handtamyd,
With thise gentlery men."
Additionally, the economic struggles of all the characters place them in direct conflict with one another to their detriment, whether it be Mak's theft, or the quibbling about "status" that leaves the shepherds without a watchmman. This would also seem to have a potentially Marxist overtone, as the poor fight for scarce resources, diverting their attention and energy away from a clear understanding of their reality.
Of course I could easily be reading too much into it, but I'm not so big a fan of capital and "free markets" as Mcaridi, and I don't have a problem with the idea of religion as an arm of the state in the maintenance of the status quo.
By
Robert Damon, at 7/26/2006 11:28 PM
The Second Shepherds' Pageant is a play that parodies the Nativity while at the same time foreshadowing it. Three honest shepherds have their prized ram stolen by Mak, a conniving man down-trodden by too many children and a what he considers a lazy wife. Mak and Gill attempt to cover the theft by disguising the sheep as a newborn baby, but are soon found out. The shepherds, rather than killing them, choose to forgive them. This act of forgiveness privileges them to be present at the actual birth of Chirst, a scene that pretty much comes out of nowhere and to me is an unappropriately serious way of ending a comedic play.
As Mcaridi mentioned, the economic base presented in the play is a feudal system. The play opens with two of the three shepherds complaining about how they are exploited by their lords and thus oppressed "in pointe to miscary / On life" (22-23). However, the shepherds, although unhappy with the situation, are complacent in it. Therefore, their outrage at the theft by Mak of their sheep is justified. Here the religious ideology comes into play. Christian faith that the meek and hard-working poor will have their reward pretty much determines that Mak's attempt to beat the system will be seen as "bad," and that the shepherds are justified in wanting revenge. However, their decision to forgive Mak paint them as undeniably "good," therefore privileging them to participate in the real Nativity.
I found the reading of the chapter on the Corpus Christi Cycle to be very interesting, and am curious to explore how craftsman guilds contributed to the negative depiction of the feudal system.
By
Niela, at 7/27/2006 10:25 AM
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