The Second Shepherds' Play, translated into Modern English

A modern translation of a medieval classic. Sneaky Mak and clever Gyll steal a sheep from the local shepherds. Upon retrieving their sheep, the shepherds Gib, Coll, and Daw are visited by an angel who announces the birth of Jesus. The play concludes with the shepherds' visit to Bethlehem. What had been a slice-of-life tale transforms into a nativity play, comparing and contrasting the poor peasants and their sheep with Mary and Jesus. Written in the fifteenth century by the Wakefield Master, The Second Shepherds' play uses uses comedy and pathos to explore the lives of medieval English peasants.