Conference:
International Conference on Traditional Drama 1994
Abstract:
A close reading of the text of the First Shepherds' Play seems to support the hypothesis that the Third Shepherd, nicknamed Slowpace, is an example of the venerable "Gothamite" motif of the "humane rider". The literary and artistic antecedents of this motif are surveyed, and further possible allusions to motifs from the Cockaigne topos in the play are examined.