ABSTRACT
Despite the subtle use of contrasted images and powerfully evocative symbolism in the medieval cycle plays, the notions of character and motivation are very simple. The Bible usually labels its characters firmly as either good or bad, and though the writers seek for elementary motivation of an explanatory kind, such as fear, caution, greed or envy, they are rarely inclined to explore any moral dilemmas the characters may be facing, preferring to lay bare their feelings, as in the case of Abraham and Isaac, rather than analyse them. As a result, a cycle-play is like a tale told by a professional storyteller, where the interest springs from the development of the story itself. The characters become distanced, and it is difficult to set up the concentrated tension on which drama thrives. The writers naturally emphasise conflict where it occurs, in stories like those of Cain and Abel, Abraham and Isaac, and the Harrowing of Hell, but there are many subjects that provide little dramatic tension, like the Creation, the Procession of Prophets or the Baptism of Christ.
