The Croxton Play of the Sacrament: A Re-Reading

Authors

Ann Eljenholm Nichols, Winona State University

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, the first paragraph of the essay follows:

For the last forty years, critics have generally agreed that the Croxton Play of the Sacrament is didactic, "unabashedly didactic," according to one critic, who argues that its purpose is "the clear, accurate, vivid statement of the meaning of the Blessed Sacrament";¹ "the nearest thing to topical propaganda ... in the fifteenth century," maintains a second;² even, argues a third, "a deliberate piece of anti-Lollard propaganda composed and presented . . . in the face of heretic teachings."³ David Mills is one of the few critics to have suggested that the play is not primarily didactic, noting that if .. compared with Everyman, the Croxton play is much more one of affirmation than explanation."⁴

Recommended Citation

Nichols, Ann Eljenholm (1988) "The Croxton Play of the Sacrament: A Re-Reading," Comparative Drama: Vol. 22: Iss. 2, Article 2.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/compdr/vol22/iss2/2