from The York Mystery Cycle: The Smiths’ Play – ‘The Temptation in the Wilderness’

DIABOLUS: …And nowe it is brought so aboute
That lurdayne that thei love and lowte,
To wildirnesse he is wente owte
Withowtyne moo.
To dere hym nowe have I no doute,
Betwyxte us two.

Before this tyme he has bene tent
That I myght gete hym with no glent,
But now sen he allone is wente
I schall assay
And garre hym to sum synne assente
If that I may.

He has fastid, that marris his mode,
Ther fourty dayes withowten foode;
If he be man in bone and bloode
Hym hungris ill;
In glotonye than halde I gude
To witt his will...

Anon.; this version mid-15th century (see modern translation at http://posp.org.uk/alt/REED/York22.html)

For some months I’ve been working on a project rewriting a few of the key York Mystery Plays with the help of Oxford groups. Our remit is broad; once we discuss overarching themes and settings that a particular group would like to explore, each writer is given a chunk of the original text and two weeks to rewrite it. In each section the same characters must achieve the same effect or argument as in the original, but the means by which they do so is up to the new writer. It’s a system which, five plays in, is working remarkably well, throwing new and unexpected ideas constantly into the mix. Without wishing to give too much away (the premier will be on the afternoon of Saturday 29th July in Radcliffe Square, followed by a repeat performance the same evening in the church), there is a wonderful ‘patchwork’ effect emerging, giving myriad voices to each character.

While ‘The Temptation’ isn’t one of the plays we’re rewriting, I wanted to include this short extract for this Lenten Poetry Corner. The Devil, in this rendering, is more pantomime than horror; he addresses the audience in a convivial aside, acting as narrator and confidante (see that ‘betwixt us two’) as well as tempter. His language is notably mild; he calls Jesus a ‘lurdane’ – a lazy person. It’s an interesting dramatic concept, and his bouncy language – and lack of confidence in his abilities (‘if that I may’) – are verging on winning our sympathies. Therein the danger lies.