MEDIEVAL MYSTERY PLAYS AND THE PROTOPOLYPHONICITY OF ARTISTIC FORM

Abstract

The present article re-examines Bakhtin’s view of the historicity of polyphony. He argues that the treatment of polyvocality in ancient and medieval literature can be only formal due to the lack of favorable conditions for dialogizing the entire chorus of voices to the utmost degree as in Dostoevsky’s novels. This view establishes a clear typological boundary. Our objective here, however, is to present medieval mysteries (The Second Shepherds’ Play) as a serio-comical genre illustrating the historical continuity of polyphony.