English Folk Drama - Types of Plays
Types of Plays
Because the mumming plays were traditional - handed on from person-to-person and down the generations, they varied considerably, and each version was unique in some way or another. But once a large number had been noted down ready for comparison it became clear that there were three main types which could be distinguished by major differences in the plot or in the structure of the play, by the characters involved and, to a certain extent, the geographical area in which they were found.
The three types are: the Hero-Combat (or St. George) play, the Wooing (or Plough) play, and the Sword Dance play.
These are not watertight definitions as there are overlaps - many 'Wooing Plays' have a 'hero-combat' section in the middle, for example - but the broad categories help us to organise our material into manageable chunks.
There are also sub-divisions within each main type that are explained more fully on the pages devoted to them
