Recycling the Cycle: The City of Chester and Its Whitsun Plays
© 1998
A consciousness of the past has been an essential determinant of community in the city of Chester, England. This awareness and fascination has been bolstered by a strong civic tradition of drama. In particular, the city's Whitsun Plays have been a vehicle for communicating the myth of the city's medieval heritage, helping to reinforce the sense of history that is part of Chester's identity.
Building up the material in REED: Chester, David Mills has produced a detailed study of Chester's Whitsun Plays in their local, physical, social, political, cultural, and religious context. A continuum has survived between the Middle Ages and the present day, providing not only an understanding of the plays themselves, but a narrative of the ways in which manuscripts survive and the functions that they serve. The continued performance of these plays is significant of modern play revivals as a political and sociological phenomenon, demonstrating the power that these rituals and plays still hold.
>Recycling the Cycle is not only a look at how medieval and Renaissance cultural traditions developed and were maintained over centuries, but an insight into how those traditions can stay fresh and relevant, even today.
Product Details
- Series: Heritage
- World Rights
- Page Count: 296 pages
- Dimensions: 6.0in x 0.0in x 9.0in
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Author Information
David Mills is a professor emeritus in the School of English at the University of Liverpool.
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Subjects and Courses
