The Chester Pageant of the Water-Leaders and Drawers of the Dee Concerning Noah’s Deluge In Plain and Simple English

By BookCaps

This is one of England’s oldest mystery plays. The text is present with both the original translation and a modern translation. Please note, this story is also included in the collection “Everyman and Other Old Religious Plays In Plain and Simple English.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookCaps
• Release date: Dec 17, 2014

BookCaps

We all need refreshers every now and then. Whether you are a student trying to cram for that big final, or someone just trying to understand a book more, BookCaps can help. We are a small, but growing company, and are adding titles every month.Visit www.bookcaps.com to see more of our books, or contact us with any questions.

Book preview

About This Series

The SwipeBook series started as a way of telling Shakespeare for the modern reader—being careful to preserve the themes and integrity of the original. Visit our website SwipeSpeare.com or SwipeBook.com to see other books in the series, as well as the interactive, and swipe-able, app!

Comparative Version

The Chester Pageant of the Water-Leaders and Drawers of Dee Concerning Noah’s Deluge

Characters

God

Noah

Shem

Ham

Japhet

Noah's Wife

Shem's Wife

Ham's Wife

Japhet's Wife

THE CHESTER PAGEANT OF THE DELUGE

God.

I, God, that all the world have wrought
Heaven and Earth, and all of nought,
I see my people, in deed and thought,
Are foully set in sin.
My ghost shall not lodge in any man
That through fleshly liking is my fone,[18]
But till six score years be gone
To look if they will blynne.[19]
Man that I made I will destroy,
Beast, worm, and fowl to fly,
For on earth they me annoy,
The folk that is thereon.
For it harms me so hurtfully
The malice now that can multiply,
That sore it grieveth me inwardly,
That ever I made man.
Therefore Noah, my servant free,
That righteous man art, as I see,
A ship soon thou shalt make thee,
Of trees dry and light.
Little chambers therein thou make
And binding slich[20] also thou take
Within and out, thou not slake
To annoint it through all thy might.
Three hundred cubits it shall be long,
And so of breadth to make it strong,
Of height so, then must thou fonge,[21]
Thus measure it about.
One window work though thy might;
One cubit of length and breadth make it,
Upon the side a door shall fit
For to come in and out.
Eating-places thou make also,
Three roofed chambers, one or two:
For with water I think to stow[22]
Man that I can make.
Destroyed all the world shall be,
Save thou, thy wife, and sons three,
And all their wives, also, with thee,
Shall saved be for thy sake.

I, God, who made Heaven and Earth from nothing, I see that my people sin foully in their thoughts and deeds. My spirit shall not be housed forever in man, who becomes my enemy through his body’s lust; but I will give him a hundred and twenty more years, to see if he will amend his ways.

I will destroy mankind that I created, and also beasts, worms and birds that fly, for all those who dwell on earth distress me. For the malice which spreads now harms me deeply, and I am sorely grieved that I ever created man.

Therefore, Noah, my free servant, whom I know to be a righteous man, you must soon build yourself a ship from light and dry trees. You shall make little rooms within it, and caulk it with pitch within and without—do not neglect to seal it with all your might. It shall be three hundred cubits long, and high and wide enough to give it