Millennium Approaches 3.1

Summary

Prior is visited by two of his ancestors. One is from the 13th century and the other is from the 17th century. They all three share the same name and the two dead Priors both died of the plague. They foretell of the messenger's coming and tell Prior of his being a prophet.

Commentary

The primary struggle for the characters in the play, Angels in America is the tragic Aids epidemic of the 80's. We can link this epidemic to the plagues of the past. Maybe every generation has a form of plague in one way or another, AIDS is Kushner's plague. In act three, scene one of Millennium Approaches, Prior is visited by two of his ancestors who died in seperate plagues. Prior 1, who died of the "spotty monster" in the 13th century contracted his fatal disease from fleas on rats. Prior 2 who died of the "black jack" plague, was infected through the London water supply. The present Prior of course got AIDS from homosexual intercourse. All three men have one thing in common, they died or will die from a disease no one knew much about or how to stop it at the time. In Prior's case, no one knows to this day how to stop the dreadful disease.

Aids has one advantage over the old world plagues. It is easier to protect yourself from contracting the disease than the others. In the case of "black jack" no one could have known it was in the water supply until it was too late. The "spotty monster" would be even harder to detect because rats could move about anywhere undetected and spread the fatal virus. The AIDS virus at least has to be transferred from one person to another via the bloodstream. After it became apparent what AIDS was and how it was spread, people had the knowledge and option to protect themselves.

Study Questions

In what centuries did the other Priors die?

What number did Prior's mother tell him he was of the same name?

What number was he?

Works Cited

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Not-Yet-Conscious, Forward Dawning Act 3 Scene 2

Kushner, Tony. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1995