Follow the instructions carefully, and please write the question number when you write it.
1. Discuss the image of the Three Orders of society.
What are the Three Orders of society? What does this image tell us about the way people viewed
European society in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries? To what extent does this image provide
a reliable understanding of society at this time, and to what extent is it misleading?
2. Discuss the image of women in the plays of Hans Sachs. What are the main types of women in
his plays (perhaps there is more than one type of woman)? To what extent do you think these
portrayals form an accurate view of women at the time? To what extent are they misleading? Do
you think these plays convey women’s roles in the household and society at the time?
3. How does Hans Sachs portray villagers in his plays? What are the main traits of the country
folk in his plays? What kinds of activities to the villagers engage in? To what extent do you think
his portrayal is reliable? To what extent is it misleading? Do you think villagers acted in the
ways his plays suggest? How would you compare his plays to what we can learn about rural
society from the textbook and The Return of Martin Guerre?
