mystery play
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈmɪstəri pleɪ/
- Literature
:
misterio
- The church decided to revive traditional mystery plays to educate the community about religious history.
- medieval mystery play
Examples
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The idea is as old as the mystery plays of the Middle Ages or the first operas: in Monteverdi's Orfeo of 1607, "Music" literally walks on the stage for all to see.
Academic text (1997) -
And now, good citizens of Wittenberg, Prince Frederick of Saxony invites you here to his courtyard to witness a mystery play on that ever most popular of subjects... the Day of Judgment.
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You're writing a mystery play.
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A mystery play.
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I learned to read the truth in the lies of the authors, as if their farces and mystery plays were my ABCs.
Fiction book (1993) -
And his first full-length comedy/mystery play, Home Exchange, premiered at the Waterfront Playhouse in May 2012.
Blog text (9) -
Medieval mystery plays and revenge tragedies sound corny to the modern ear because the language of those earlier dramas has little relation to the way people actually talk.
Academic text (2011) -
In contrast, the three parts of Till Damaskus represent something new in Western drama, a form Szondi calls the "station drama," which draws on the Bildungsroman and the medieval mystery play, but also points forward to the work of German expressionist playwrights.
Academic text (1997) -
In the courtyard, the townspeople gathered to watch a mystery play depicting the life of Christ.
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During the festival, a group of actors performed a mystery play that retold biblical stories in a dramatic fashion.
Synonyms
A play about Bible stories performed in a church on holy days, usually sung in Latin
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'mystery' as an inexplicable or puzzling event and 'play' as a dramatic work will likely infer a play about a mystery, not specifically a medieval biblical drama. The actual sense relies on a historical/archaic meaning of 'mystery' (religious guild dramas) and cultural knowledge, so the connection is only partially transparent and typically requires prior exposure.
Etymology
Mystery play The name mystery play comes from the Middle Ages, when local groups put on short plays that told Bible stories because the word mystery meant 'religious story'. That's why mystery play now means a public drama that retells Bible events.