Abstract
It seems that the urge to rewrite folk plays is irresistible. Working with
a large sample of composed and adapted texts, the apparent personal and cultural
motivations of these wannabe folk playwrights are explored. More specifically,
this study examines the textual characteristics of the rewritten plays in an
attempt to determine what it is that makes the authors think that they have
written a mummers' play. These features are then compared with a historical
database of "authentic" Quack Doctor plays. It is suggested that similar
processes and criteria have existed throughout the history of the plays, and
may indeed have been the prime factor in their evolution.
This is a fleshed-out version of the original Microsoft PowerPoint
presentation I gave at the conference. Bibliographic references have been added,
as have hyperlinks to my web-based sources. Further information, which was given
verbally at the conference, has been added where appropriate, especially to
explain the graphs. There is also some additional data from the textual analysis
that I was unable to present due to time limitations. This paper has been
submitted for publication along with the other conference papers in the journal
Ulster Studies in Irish and Celtic.
Peter Millington
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