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Daw
Mak is the primary antagonist of the play, husband of Gill, father of several children, and enemy to the three shepherd protagonists, Coll, Gyb, and Daw. Widely known as a thief, Mak steals a sheep from the other shepherds, even though he knows the offense is punishable by hanging. Mak is deeply impoverished and struggles to feed his wife and children. Instead of working, Mak prides himself on making more by stealing than he could make with a steady job. Throughout the play, Mak is prideful, deceitful, and selfish. He blatantly turns away from God, acting instead in accordance with his own self-serving will.
Mak Quotes in The Second Shepherd’s Play
The The Second Shepherd’s Play quotes below are all either spoken by Mak or refer to Mak. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Scene 1
Quotes
Let be! I’m a yeoman of the king / And a messenger from a great lordling / …I must have reverence! / Dare you ask, who am I?
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Manus tuas commendo / Pontio Pilato.
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Scene 2
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I am worthy of my meat, / For in a trice I can get / More than they who strive and sweat / All the day long.
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Scene 4
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Were a worse plight, I’d find a way still.
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Scene 6
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Oh, my belly! I die! / I vow to God so mild / If ever I you beguiled / Then I will eat this child / That doth in cradle lie!
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Sirs, for this deed, take my advice instead / For this trespass. / We will neither curse not fight / Nor dispute our right / We’ll tie him up tight / And toss him in canvas.
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Scene 7
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Thou hast cowed at last the devil so wild / The false beguiler now goes beguiled.
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Mak Quotes in The Second Shepherd’s Play
The The Second Shepherd’s Play quotes below are all either spoken by Mak or refer to Mak. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Scene 1
Quotes
Let be! I’m a yeoman of the king / And a messenger from a great lordling / …I must have reverence! / Dare you ask, who am I?
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Explanation and Analysis:
Manus tuas commendo / Pontio Pilato.
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Scene 2
Quotes
I am worthy of my meat, / For in a trice I can get / More than they who strive and sweat / All the day long.
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Scene 4
Quotes
Were a worse plight, I’d find a way still.
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Scene 6
Quotes
Oh, my belly! I die! / I vow to God so mild / If ever I you beguiled / Then I will eat this child / That doth in cradle lie!
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Sirs, for this deed, take my advice instead / For this trespass. / We will neither curse not fight / Nor dispute our right / We’ll tie him up tight / And toss him in canvas.
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Scene 7
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Thou hast cowed at last the devil so wild / The false beguiler now goes beguiled.
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