"The N Town Plays and the Politics of Metatheater"

I have never studied the N Town Plays before this class and I decided I would do a little extra research on the plays in order to familiarize myself with what I was actually reading. I found a great article published in 2003 called "The N Town Plays and Politics of Metatheater." This article, by William Fitzhenry, furthers ideas that are also found in the intro of the N Town Plays. 

He talks about how the N Town scribe-compiler depicts a complex connection or interaction between two theatrical models: the monologic and the dialogic. The former is the idea that the theatrical plays are meant to only transfer knowledge from the stage to the audience. This idea leaves little room for audience participation or even audience analysis of the plays. The latter takes a less authoritative stance, and it allows the members of the audience to have the opportunity to interpret the play for themselves. This connects with ideas found on page 4 of the N Town Plays TEAMS text that we are reading in class. Within the Introduction, it says, "In such a complex religious landscape, it seems likely that contemporary East Anglian audiences included people of diverse sympathies, who may well have interpreted these plays in different ways" (N Town 4). 

When reading these plays, it is important to think about the purpose behind the plays and whether or not it is monologic or dialogic. Obviously, the true origins behind these plays is questionable, and we cannot know these answers for sure, but it helps to draw our own conclusions from the play just as the general audience of East Anglian time did as well. 

Here is the citation link for the article or you can just look up the title online at the library Library. I found it through EBSCO. 

Fitzhenry, William. "The N Town Plays and the Politics of Metatheater." Studies in Philology 100.1. (2003): 22-43. Web. 

http://ftp1.whitworth.edu:3361/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f073ff5e-4e46-4e52-91d1-035ee9299601%40sessionmgr120&vid=1&hid=101