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SEMESTER I

NAME OF THE STUDENT: Venkata Meghana Wunnava

SEMESTER: 1 SECTION: 3

CLASS ROLL NO: 65 EXAMINATION ROLL NO: 23080708005

COLLEGE/DEPARTMENT: St. Stephen’s College

PAPER CODE: 120351101

PAPER NAME: Medieval Literature

TITLE OF THE PAPER: Juxtaposing Rural Poverty in the Second Shepherd’s Play with

Modern India’s Poverty

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 14th December, 2023

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Full Name: Venkata Meghana Wunnava

Signature: Meghana
Venkata Meghana Wunnava

23MENG004

Medieval Literature (120351101)

14h December, 2023

Introduction

In literature, the depiction of poverty often serves as a mirror reflecting the socio-

economic state of an age. In Second Shepherd’s play, Wakefield Master masterfully

showcases the rural poverty confronting the shepherds during a time when their relationship

with the land is changing. The poor weather, long hours, over-taxation, changing

responsibilities, and oppression by wealthy landowners make their lives miserable, leading

them to launch into long soliloquies pertaining to their wretched lives. Feudalism guides their

livelihood, confronting them with unprecedented obstacles. It is interesting to note that,

despite being written in the fifteenth century, its depiction of poverty is highly relatable and

relevant. In particular, it is possible to draw a parallel between poverty in modern India and

the rural poverty depicted within the play via the dialogues of the characters. Thus, this paper

argues that the depiction of rural poverty by Wakefield Master can be applied to the context

of modern India’s poor population. In particular, the paper draws a comparison between rural

poverty in the Second Shepherd’s play and poverty in the context of modern India across four

specific themes: hunger, crime, domestic issues, and class divide.

Discussion

In the Second Shepherd's play, rural poverty is depicted through dialogues that

describe the thoughts and feelings of the four central characters. They lament about the lack

of food, their attachment to their sheep for livelihood, the harsh weather, the apparent class

divide, being overworked and exploited by the local elites, and raging domestic issues. Each
of these issues also mirrors similar hurdles navigated by India’s population that is struggling

with poverty. This paper will delve into four pertinent themes of rural poverty in the play and

compare them with today's Indian context.

Hunger

In the Second Shepherd’s play, a recurring theme is the lack of food, shelter, and

drinks. Poverty, coupled with their responsibility to take good care of their sheep for their

livelihood, leaves the shepherds with very little for themselves. Food insecurity is a serious

issue for India’s poor as well, which disproportionately affects the poor. Recent research

suggests that around 200 malnourished people live in India, which denotes that food

insecurity is significantly widespread. (McKay, Sims and Pligt 358-367) Their conditions

mimic that of the central characters of the play, with a study stating that 6.9% of rural older

adults skip meals due to the lack of affordability, while the number is reduced to 2.6% in the

urban context. (Srivastava and Muhammad)

Crime

Another interesting consequence of rural poverty, as depicted in the play, is crime.

The lack of food, coupled with the responsibility of feeding his wife and his children, leads

Mak to steal one of the Shepherds’ sheep. Despite the ludic element at play here, it is

pertinent to point out that in a rural pastoral economy, sheep are a primary source of

livelihood for the shepherds. Thievery, particularly when it involves livestock, was

considered a serious crime, the punishment for which was hanging. It is important to draw a

parallel between poverty and crime in India to understand the enduring relevance of

Wakefield Master’s writing even in the 21 st century. A ground-breaking study conducted by

the government of India in 2012 revealed that a significant part of juveniles (57%) hailed

from poor families whose annual income was up to Rs. 25,000/. This demonstrates that there
may be a correlation between crime and poverty in the Indian context, echoing the depiction

of Mak, whose poor means lead him to commit thievery (GOI 89).

Domestic Issues

In this play, both Mak and Gyb relentlessly complain about their wives. While Gyb

wishes to lose his wife, Mak prays for the death of his wife. Although the play does not

explicitly connect their poverty-ridden state to their domestic issues, the two characters

complain about the nagging of their wives. When Mak knocks on the door of his home urging

his wife to open the door, she retorts that she will not be able to make any money if this

continues, hinting that the question of money and the lack of basic resources required to

sustain themselves seems to be a prevailing issue between the couple. While there is no

substantial research conducted studying the correlation between domestic issues and poverty

in the modern Indian context, there is often a correlation drawn between poverty and

domestic abuse (Gerstein 44-45). In a study conducted in the Indian context, it was revealed

that women hailing from the poorest economic backgrounds and living in rural areas were

more at risk for experiencing domestic violence (Das and Roy). These studies demonstrate

that domestic issues and poverty are connected, as depicted by Wakefield Master.

Class Divide

Wakefield Master skilfully depicts the unfairness of the class divide in feudal

Medieval England, with wealthy landowners exploiting the shepherds and paying them very

little money. The shepherds constantly complain about working long hours in harsh weather

conditions despite being paid unfairly. Income inequality in India is highly pervasive,

augmented by class and caste divide, with the top 10% holding more than 60% of the

country’s wealth in the last decade (Ghatak, Raghavan and Xu). The exploitation of workers

in India is rampant among call centres, textile industries, the IT sector, and more (Ramesh

492-497) (The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and the India
Committee of the Netherlands (ICN)). These instances mirror the rural poverty of Medieval

England as depicted by Wakefield Master, demonstrating how his writing was way ahead of

his time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the rural poverty in The Second Shepherd's play elicits empathy as the

characters' suffering mimics the current Indian context. Various recurring themes such as

hunger, exploitation, and a lack of resources are emphasized by the playwright throughout the

play in a pastoral economy setting. Despite the ludic elements, their struggles resonate with

the reader and demonstrate the current reality of the poor in India.
Works Cited

Srivastava, Shobhit and T Muhammad. "Rural-urban differences in food insecurity and

associated cognitive impairment among older adults: findings from a nationally

representative survey." BMC Geriatrics (2022).

McKay, Fiona H, Alice Sims and Paige van der Pligt. " Measuring Food Insecurity in India: A

Systematic Review of the Current Evidence." Curr Nutr Rep (2023 ): 358-367.

GOI. "CHILDREN IN INDIA 2012 - A Statistical Appraisal." Government. 2012.

Gerstein, L. "In India, Poverty and Lack of Education are Associated with Men's Physical and

Sexual Abuse of Their Wives." International Family Planning Perspectives 26.1 (2000):

44-45.

Das, Tanu and Dr Tamal Basu Roy. "More than individual factors; is there any contextual

effect of unemployment, poverty and literacy on the domestic spousal violence

against women? A multilevel analysis on Indian context." SSM Popul Health. (2020).

Ghatak, Maitreesh, Ramya Raghavan and Linchuan Xu. "Trends in Economic Inequality in

India." The India Forum (2022).

Ramesh, Babu P. "'Cyber Coolies' in BPO: Insecurities and Vulnerabilities of Non-Standard

Work." Economic and Political Weekly (2004): 492-497.

The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and the India Committee of

the Netherlands (ICN). "Flawed Fabrics." 2014.

(n.d.).