"Such fair before was never found" : the light of God and the significance of visual perception in the york mystery cycle.

Abstract

Light is one of the most frequently occurring elements in the York Mystery Cycle, and the York playwrights make use of this element to further characterization in the cycle. The first two dramas establish God as a literal source of light and connect Lucifer to darkness. Therefore, light is indicative of all things good and darkness is indicative of all things evil. Thus, students of the York cycle can use light to analyze other characters in the cycle; good characters are able to perceive the light of God, but wicked characters are not able to perceive it. Additionally, the necessity for visual perception can account for the appearance of certain characters in specific dramas, and Moses is one such character. He must see God's light prior to the Exodus, the Transfiguration, and the Harrowing, and Moses's ability to perceive the light of God connects his appearances in the cycle.