The Second Shepherd’s Play: Scene 6 Summary & Analysis

Although this could be a serious, even violent, encounter—the shepherds are angry at the loss of their sheep, and theft is a crime punishable by death—Mak’s lullaby infuses the whole scene with lighthearted comedy. Lullabies are meant to be soft and soothing, but Mak’s lullaby is off key, abrasive, and loud. Yet, Mak and Gill still insist the shepherds speak quietly and tip toe, adding to the scene’s absurdity and humor.

Mak again tries to act superior, falsely putting himself above the other shepherds by claiming that only he would be able to stop the theft. Mak’s deception and scheming seems to know no bounds, and he betrays no signs of shame.

Gill claims that if she has ever tricked the shepherds, she will go so far as to eat her newborn baby in the cradle—which, of course, is the sheep that she has every intention of eating later. Gill’s comment is an example of the crude, slapstick humor that characterizes the first part of the play.

The shepherds and the reader gain empathy for Mak in this encounter, as the shepherds see Mak’s poverty firsthand while they search for their sheep. Not only do the shepherds not find the sheep—they don’t find any meat or food whatsoever in Mak’s home. The shepherds’ newfound empathy is what leads them to extend to Mak an offer of friendship. Coll’s joke about Mak’s newborn smelling as foul as the missing sheep is another instance of the crude humor peppered throughout the first part of the play—one of the elements that sets the earthly first part of the play apart from the spiritual second part.

Even though Mak has just rudely rejected their offer of friendship, the shepherds still prioritize bringing Mak a gift for his newborn. They don’t stop to discuss whether or not Mak is worthy of a gift, which reveals the shepherds’ commitment to acting charitably even in difficult situations. Daw is the first to volunteer to run back to Mak’s shack to bring a gift, showing his compassion and warmth.

This is the first instance of the shepherds being rewarded for their charity. It is the shepherds’ good intentions—bringing Mak a gift to relieve his poverty even after he rejected their offer of friendship—that leads them to uncover their stolen sheep. Wrapped in swaddling clothes and visited by three shepherds bearing gifts, the sheep represents the Christ child in the classic nativity story.

Daw’s violent outburst—right after his warmhearted plea to kiss Mak’s newborn baby and leave him with a gift—reminds us that Daw is the youngest of the three shepherds and is easily swept up by his emotions. Daw’s violent declaration that Mak and Gill must be put to death contrasts with Coll and Gyb’s simultaneous amusement and annoyance. Meanwhile, Mak and Gill’s increasingly absurd explanations for their baby’s sheep-like appearance are reflective of the mystery play’s purpose: to entertain and engage an audience while teaching religious lessons (the latter of which will appear later in the play).

Coll reveals himself to be the most compassionate of the three shepherds, urging the others to forgive Mak for his wrongs and spare him and his wife from the death penalty. By letting Mak off with an easy punishment, the shepherds show their willingness to forgive someone who made their difficult lives even harder. Unbeknownst to the shepherds, they will be significantly rewarded for this act of charity.

The appearance of the Angel seems startlingly out of sync with the tone and content of the play so far, and the Angel’s song shifts the play from crude and comical to solemn and religious. Notably, it is the shepherds—not Mak and Gill—who are chosen to see the Christ child, suggesting that the shepherds’ consistent acts of unreciprocated charity have made them worthy of seeing Christ. It’s also important to note that the angel is an anachronism—since the shepherds are in Medieval England and have been singing nativity carols for the duration of the play, it is jarring that the nativity is only just now unfolding.

Coll and Gyb’s joking imitation of the Angel’s impressive song temporarily shifts the tone of the scene away from spiritual territory and toward a lighthearted brand of humor that feels familiar from the first part of the play. This brief moment of comedy reveals how the Angel’s song acts as a hinge between the two parts of the play: the funny, worldly plotline about the stolen sheep and the serious, religious plotline about the nativity.

Daw implies that the mere promise of seeing Christ has the power to melt away the earthly struggles that have been weighing on them throughout the play—an idea that will gain weight by the end of the play. Once more, the shepherds sing, moving the play from one scene to the next and transforming the setting from England to Bethlehem.