The play addresses the real issues that were evident in the medieval era by employing an inversion of the Nativity story. Four character descriptions found in the play are as follows; Make: Make was a local thief who was already known by the shepherds as a sheep-thief. He denied being a thief but rather a messenger of a noble lord. He complains to the shepherds about his wife who gives birth every year and increases the mouths he has to feed. He uses this guise he has created to steal the shepherds most prized sheep.
He then runs off to his mom to face his crafty wife Gill and also convince her to help him hide it from the shepherds when they come searching. He then ran back to the shepherds to lay down with them and pretend he has a dreaming about his wife birthing a new baby so he has to rush home. He is later on caught by the shepherds after a long search in his cottage and he succeeding in deceiving them on the first try. He was tossed in the air by the shepherds as a lenient form of punishment for committing such an offence in that era. Gill: The wife of Make who he complains about birthing children every year and increasing the oaths he has to feed.
She helps Make in hiding the sheep he stole from the shepherds by disguising it as their new-born baby. Cool: The first shepherd who also happens to be the leader of the shepherds. He starts off by complaining about the weather which happened to be very cold and the feudal system which is a common feature that existed in the medieval era. Gibe: The second shepherd who is unhappily married and always complaining about his wife and the treatment he receives from her. He tells young men not to be deceived into getting married as he sees it as a trap.
