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Characters
Coll is one of the protagonists of the play, alongside his two other shepherd companions, Gyb and Daw. The eldest of the three shepherds, Coll has the most political complaints and attributes his suffering to the wealthy landowners who force him to work long hours for little pay. Despite his struggles, Coll is empathetic and forgiving in the face of adversity. After finding out that Mak stole one of their sheep, a crime punishable by hanging, Coll shows Mak mercy and compassion by sparing him from the death penalty, even while Daw demands that Mak (and Gill) to be hanged.
Coll Quotes in The Second Shepherd’s Play
The The Second Shepherd’s Play quotes below are all either spoken by Coll or refer to Coll. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Scene 1 Quotes
We are so hammed, / Over-taxed and rammed, / We are made hand-tammed / By these gentlemen.
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At the opening of the play, Coll gives a lengthy and impassioned soliloquy, complaining about his difficult life as a shepherd and pointedly blaming the wealthy landowners for his suffering. Coll’s emotionally-charged complaints are reflective of Medieval England’s social and political fabric, which was characterized by extreme poverty and tyrannical landowners. Just like his other shepherd companions, Gyb and Daw, Coll is forced to work long hours as a shepherd for very little pay. Used in succession, the rhyming words “hammed,” “over-taxed and rammed,” and “hand-tammed” have the rhythm of a hammer that beats Coll over and over again, emphasizing Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut ist
There was never since Noah’s flood such weather seen. / …How these snows all drown / The fields and the town / And bear all down, / ‘Tis a wonder!
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In his soliloquy, Daw likens the brutal storm to Noah’s flood from the Old Testament, recognizing the way harsh weather affects everyone in the vicinity, regardless of whether they are rich city-dwellers or poor shepherds in the fields. While Daw’s comment says something about the intensity of the storm, it also reveals Medieval England’s divisive social makeup. Daw suggests that the gap between rich and poor is so wide that it takes a powerful, natural force—a storm strong and widespread enough to rival Noah’s flood—to bridge the class divide. In addition, by comparing the present storm to a biblical one, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam volupt
Ere we go now, I would someone gave us a song.
So I thought, as I stood, to beguile us along.
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After each of the three shepherd protagonists—Coll, Gyb, and Daw—give their long, sad soliloquies, Daw suggests that they stop wallowing in their misery and distract themselves with a song. Gyb agrees, noting that a song will “beguile us along,” illustrating the way that singing has a cheering quality. This is the first instance of song in the play, as well as the first time that song is implied to have a transformative power—a theme that pervades the play up until its closing lines. In this instance, singing transforms the shepherds’ sour moods and temporarily alleviates their suffering.
Let be! I’m a yeoman of the king / And a messenger from a great lordling / …I must have reverence! / Dare you ask, who am I?
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Coll, Gyb, and Daw see Mak, a well-known thief, approaching. The shepherds recognize him instantly and address him by name, but Mak ignores their greeting and pretends to be an important visitor from the south. In the Middle English version of the play, Mak uses the word “Ich,” the southern dialect of the word “I’m,” contrasting with the shepherds’ northern accents. Using his disguise, Mak tries to falsely put himself above the shepherds, pretending to be a powerful foreigner rather than a lowly local thief. Mak is immediately depicted as prideful and manipulative—he even goes so far as to demand Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor
Manus tuas commendo / Pontio Pilato.
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When Coll, Gyb, and Daw lie down to sleep for the night, they force Mak to sleep between them so that they will sense if he gets up in the middle of the night to steal one of their sheep. However, as soon as the shepherds fall asleep, Mak casts a spell upon them to ensure they don’t wake up. He then pledges his allegiance to Pontius Pilate in this Latin quote. Mak’s phrase is a parody of Luke 23:46, when Jesus, dying on the cross, calls out to God, “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” In contrast, Mak Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident exp
Scene 6 Quotes
Oh, my belly! I die! / I vow to God so mild / If ever I you beguiled / Then I will eat this child / That doth in cradle lie!
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While Coll, Gyb, and Daw search Mak and Gill’s shack for any sign of their missing sheep, Gill cries out in fake postpartum pain and makes sweeping claims that she and her husband are innocent. She assures the shepherds that if she has ever tricked them, she will go so far as to eat her newborn in the cradle—which, unbeknownst to the shepherds (but fully known to the audience), is the stolen sheep that she and Mak have every intention of eating later. Gill’s dramatic outburst is an example of the crude humor peppered throughout the first part of the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut
Sirs, for this deed, take my advice instead / For this trespass. / We will neither curse not fight / Nor dispute our right / We’ll tie him up tight / And toss him in canvas.
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When the shepherds realize that Mak and Gill have been disguising the stolen sheep as their newborn baby all along, Daw is furious and is adamant that Mak and Gill face the standard punishment for theft—death by hanging. However, Coll reveals himself to be the most compassionate of the three shepherds and convinces Gyb and Daw to let Mak and Gill off easy. Instead of demanding Mak and Gill be hanged, the shepherds need only humiliate Mak by tossing him in a blanket. While humiliating Mak isn’t a wholly compassionate thing to do (they could, for example, empathize with his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae volupta
Rise, herdsmen, rise, for Christ is born / To rend that fiend that Adam had lorn / The Saviour of all, this night is he born. / His behests / To Bethlehem go see / Where lies this baby / In a crib full poorly / Betwixt two beasts.
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After carrying the 140-pound sheep back to fields, Coll, Gyb, and Daw are more exhausted than before. The moment that they finally lie down to rest, the sky ignites with light and sound, as an Angel appears, singing “Gloria in Excelsis Deo.” The Angel tells the shepherds of Christ’s birth and urges them to depart for Bethlehem immediately. The Angel’s song, like all of the songs in the play, is transformative. In this instance, song transforms the mood of the play from comical and lighthearted (and, at times, absurd) to solemn and religious. The Angel’s song and accompanying commentary also Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam volu
Hie we thither right merry / If we be wet and weary / Still, we’ll find the child and lady, / We cannot lose.
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Once the Angel departs, the three shepherds know they must get to Bethlehem immediately to see the Christ child. Daw notes that with Christ on the forefront of their minds, all of their earthly suffering melts away. Even the sleep deprivation and relentless storm that have been hounding them for the duration of the play no longer matter as much. The mere promise of seeing Christ gives the shepherds renewed purpose and comfort. This is similar to when, at the opening of the play, the shepherds sing a nativity carol to distract themselves from their earthly struggles. The theme of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veni
Scene 7 Quotes
Thou hast cowed at last the devil so wild / The false beguiler now goes beguiled.
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Once they arrive in Bethlehem, Coll, Gyb, and Daw present their humble gifts to the Christ child while Mary looks on. Before presenting Christ with his gift, a bunch of cherries, Coll declares that Christ’s birth has cast out Satan, whom he calls “The false beguiler.” However, since the word “beguiler” appears frequently in the first part of the play in the context of Mak and Gill’s theft, Coll’s comment implies that Christ’s birth also does away with earthly “false beguilers,” or tricksters, like Mak and Gill. Thus, the play affirms that Christ can save mankind from both spiritual and Dolorem et quae. Exe
And now he is born. / To keep you from woe / I shall pray him so, / Tell it forth, as ye go, / And mind on this morn!
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Once all three of the shepherds have presented their gifts to Christ, Mary explains the significance of Christ’s birth, declaring that Christ will keep them out of harm’s way. She also urges the shepherds to spread the news of the nativity, consequently revealing herself to be the most religiously pedagogical character in the play. Since the heart of the mystery play is to teach religious lessons, Mary’s lines are some of the most important lines in the play, even though they are brief. Her comments about Christ’s power and significance extend beyond the shepherds and to the audience, implying that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor a
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Coll Character Timeline in The Second Shepherd’s Play
The timeline below shows where the character Coll appears in The Second Shepherd’s Play. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Scene 1
...alone in an open field in the middle of a raging storm, a man named Coll complains about the hardships he faces as a shepherd. He feels beaten down by the...
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...marriage to her and wishes he could escape. His increasingly aggressive soliloquy is interrupted when Coll calls out to get his attention. Gyb greets Coll with playful mock-contempt and asks if...
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Daw, a young shepherd boy who serves Coll and Gyb, enters. Not yet noticing the other shepherds, Daw remarks to himself about the...
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Daw mutters about how poorly he is treated, and Coll and Gyb scold him for complaining (despite the both of them having just indulged in...
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Scene 2
Mak wants to eat the sheep immediately, but Gill stops him, reminding him that Coll, Gyb, and Daw will certainly suspect Mak of the crime and will come looking for...
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Scene 3
Coll, Gyb, and Daw awaken from their deep, spell-induced sleep. After quickly checking that Mak is...
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...search him to prove that he hasn’t stolen from them. As Mak departs, Daw tells Coll and Gyb that they should go check on their sheep just in case.
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Scene 5
...claim that they will not rest until they prove Mak guilty and recover their sheep. Coll knows where Mak lives, so the three men set off to confront him.
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Scene 6
Coll, Gyb, and Daw arrive outside of Mak’s shack and are startled by the din Mak...
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...Mak declares that had he witnessed the theft, he would have beaten up the culprit. Coll, Gyb, and Daw remark that they have reason to believe Mak is the thief.
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...or alive, in Mak’s shack, let alone any food whatsoever. Trying to ease the tension, Coll jokes that Mak and Gill’s newborn baby smells as bad as their sheep did. The...
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...kiss. He pulls the cloth back and reveals—to his surprise and Mak’s horror—the stolen sheep. Coll and Gyb finally catch up to Daw and see the sheep lying exposed in the...
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Coll and Gyb are amused by the cleverness of Mak and Gill’s trick, but Daw is...
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Daw is adamant that Mak and Gill face the death penalty, but Coll compassionately spares Mak and Gill from being hanged. He convinces the other shepherds to “…neither...
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The Angel vanishes as suddenly as it appeared, leaving Coll, Gyb, and Daw to marvel at what they’ve just witnessed. Jokingly, Coll and Gyb try...
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Scene 7
Skipping the shepherds’ actual journey, Scene VII opens with Coll, Gyb, and Daw at the stable in Bethlehem with Mary and Christ. Each of the...
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Coll praises Christ for defeating the devil, noting how Christ’s birth means that “The false beguiler...
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Coll, Gyb, and Daw know they are redeemed. They decide to spread the news of the...
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