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(submitted on behalf of my husband, who's at Duke.....dma) Dear Mr. Conner - I just discovered this bulletin board through my wife, and though I'm certainly no expert on medieval drama (nor on this text editor), I'm excited about the possibilities for discussion here, so I'll ask you a couple of questions and then give you some declarative statements, as you requested. Are you lecturing or discussing? Will they have read the works before the class or after your introduction? Eco's argument in "Dreaming of the Middle Ages" can open up a good discussion on the sudden resurgence of interest in the Middle Ages (and the drama in particular) on a popular level. What can a medieval Every- man have to say to a modern Anyman? Given my historicist bent, I always move to examine the intersections between the religious pre-texts and the text's representations of contemporary medieval interests and environments. Naturally, a number of the Corpus Christi plays are useful for this, and as you mentioned, The Second Shepherd's Play is a likely one to be anthologized, and has some wonderful anachronisms (and ana-localisms) which point to issues in play during the composition of the Play: sharp divisions of wealth and class, poverty, scarcity, exploitation of the working class and its efforts to combat that exploitation, etc. You know all this, but I've found that it not only excites students, but allows me to sneak in a bit of historical context. Another simple declaration I'd make about the drama is to point out that it's the clearest, most sustained example we've got of literature that might have seen a mixed-class audience (though clearly this is more true of the Corpus Christi plays than the liturgical drama). The appeal of popular culture as an area for investigation is, as you know, great at present. The exclusion of representations of affective piety from the drama (and from the literature in general) is problematic given its widespread practice and sanction (though a nervous sanction) by the church; as you know other examples abound. I've not much to recommend as far as theories of origin go: I've never found them interesting, but I have encountered students who did. Usually I only point out that it did not develop from Greek drama, and suggest that it most likely grew out of enactments of certain points of the mass (though I find this argument itself requires a leap of faith). Bevington's Medieval Drama anthology has some terrific quick-hit intros and some useful selections from which to choose. The Benediktbeuern Christmas and Passion plays are delightfully problematic. Well, sorry to have run on so long (and sorry that I cannot figure out how to go back and doll this prose up) for so little gain. Good luck and enjoy, Addison Amos